You
by When-Rabbit-Howls
Summary: SEQUEL TO "DEAR BODY" As Chase tries to come to grips with what he has done to himself, a series of events lead House to take the life-altering step of "changing" his commitment to the younger man. HouseXChase
1. Surprise From the Down Under

**Greetings Dearest Readers,**

**This is the sequel to "Dear Body," which you need to read if you want to understand aspects in this story.**

****Like with "Come Find Me," this story is going under a lot of editing b/c I either don't like the idea and/or how it's written. So if you come across something that doesn't make sense, I changed it or took it out in a previous chapter.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Surprise From the Down Under**

"Robbie! Robbie! Robbie!" House shouted, causing Chase to jump and fall out of bed. He sat up, rubbing his head, and glared at House who was smiling childishly from the doorway.

"What?" Chase asked irritably, glancing at the alarm clock. "Greg," he groaned, "It's 6:00 in the morning, we don't have to be up for another hour!" House's smile widened.

"I know, but you do know what day it is right?" Chase thought a moment, then it dawned on him:

Wednesday…weigh-in Wednesday.

Chase sighed and stood up, walked over to House and wrapped his arms around his middle. House chuckled.

"Nice try. Go weight yourself."

"Damnit." Chase mumbled as he stalked off to the bathroom while House went to the kitchen.

Chase stood in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection. Ever since he moved in with House 7 months ago, he's put on some weight. His shoulders were no longer as bony and as he turned to his side, he noticed that his stomach was in-line with his ribs. His collarbone still protruded more than it should, but not to the point that it was really unhealthy.

He sighed and glanced to a piece of paper taped to the side of the mirror. It was his "weigh-in chart"; it kept track of how much weight he gained in a period of 2 weeks. He frowned as he saw that the numbers were getting bigger as the chart got longer. He shook his head; bigger numbers was a good thing.

He took a deep breath and stepped on the scale, watching the numbers flash before settling on his weight: 136 lbs. He hung his head and stepped into the bathtub, sitting down with his legs dangling over the edge. He wasn't necessarily upset about his new weight; it was just unfamiliar to him. The entire process of gaining weight was something he's never done, so he's still tentative about it. He closed his eyes and tilted his head up slightly, breathing deeply.

He chuckled lightly as he heard House curse from the living room, most likely just dropping something that he didn't feel like bending down and picking up. House has been his greatest support since they started dating almost two years ago. He remembered all the bad moments they've had together, mainly from him resisting House's help. But they've also had good moments that counter-acted the bad moments.

He let out a soft chuckle as he opened his eyes. Who would've thought that he would end up with someone like House? And would've thought that House would allow himself happiness?

**HouseXChase**

They arrived at the hospital, Chase heading to the conference room and House going to bother Wilson. They decided that they wouldn't tell anyone about their relationship; they agreed that if it came up, they wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

Chase chewed on the tip of his pen aimlessly as he thought about his puzzle; Cameron and Foreman talking about their frustrations of House being late…again. They have been very good to him ever since he spoke at the Eating Disorders and Outreach Program Summit. They never asked him questions or gave him sympathetic looks, which he greatly appreciated. The door opened and House walked in, Wilson following behind him reluctantly. House walked to the board and began to write the symptoms of their newest patient, Wilson sitting in a seat between Chase and Cameron.

"What are you doing here, Wilson?" Cameron asked curiously, earning a shrug from Wilson.

"I have no idea. He told me to be here."

"Maybe I just wanted your company?" House asked, sweet sarcasm dripping from his voice as he turned to look at them.

"Seriously, why do you want me here? I do have other things to do."

"Like the blonde thingy in accounting?" House shot back, earning a sigh from Wilson.

"N—"

"Wilson," Chase butted in, still chewing on the tip of his pen. "You of all people should know that at this point…it's just better to not argue with him." He released a light chuckle and smile. Wilson sighed in defeat and slumped back in his seat.

"Seriously House, why do you want me here?"

"Do I really need a reason?"

"For anyone else, no. For you, yes." House was about to retort, a woman burst through the door, looking frazzled. They turned to look at her.

"WHY does this hospital have to be so big? It took me 2 hours to find the hospital and 30 minutes to find this room. Good God, move your tiny ass, Robbie, and let the lady sit." The woman said in a thick Australian accent as Chase smiled at her and stood, offering her his seat which she slumped in dramatically. Chase rolled his eyes.

"Uh-oh, we have a Drama Queen in here." Chase said teasingly as he placed his hands on his hips. She flipped her blonde hair off her shoulder and looked around the room, seeming impressed. The woman had bright green eyes and blonde hair that graced the middle of her back. Her torn jeans, combat boots, and green tank top gave everyone else in the room the impression that she kind of leaned towards being a Tomboy.

"Hey now, I have every reason to be dramatic, Blondie. Like I said, it took me a long time to find this damn place and—"

"It's the biggest and most popular hospital in Princeton, Aura."

"Uh-oh, we have a smartass in here." Aura said, holding her hands up and widening her eyes dramatically.

"I thought your flight wasn't supposed to get in until tomorrow night?" Aura let out a small laugh and looked up at him.

"I lied." Chase sighed and gave her a pointed look. House pushed back his playful smile that was about to show because of Chase and Aura's conversation.

_They must be best friends, but he's never mentioned someone named 'Aura'…at least I don't think so._

"It's an incredibly nice place." Aura looked down at the others and smiled kindly.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Aura, which is short for Aurora. And Robbie and I have known each other since…" A thoughtful look came across her face and she looked back up at Chase, who sighed.

"God, how long have we been stuck with each other?" Chase asked.

"Too long." Aura teased. "But really, we've been friends for…20 years?" House and the other doctors looked shocked as Chase thought about this as well.

"Probably a little longer because I remember that I would hit you on the head with a Sippy Cup every time you said that Batman sucked." They laughed as childhood memories began to surface.

"So we've known each other since we were toddlers?"

"Yep."

"So about 24 years?"

"We'll go with that." House furrowed his brows slightly at this.

_They've known each other for 24 years…basically their entire lives, and Chase has never mentioned her? Why?_

"Oh wow," Cameron said, surprise evident in her voice. "You two have known each other for basically your entire lives." Aura smiled at her.

"We don't really consider ourselves friends because we basically grew up together. It's more of a sibling thing."

"Right, she's the older one though." Chase said, poking Aura on the back of the head.

"Only by 3 months!" Aura shook her head. "Anyway, it's been a while since I've visited Robbie, so I figured that I'd visit."

"I rarely go back to Australia." Chase added quickly, knowing that their next question would be why he didn't go back.

"Why?" Wilson asked curiously.

"Work." Chase said simply, which made perfect sense to all of them. The life of a doctor doesn't usually allow for a lot of international trips.

"But you guys have better been treating my Robbie right, otherwise I'll kick all your asses." Chase flicked the back of her head.

"Stop."

"So Aura," Cameron asked, getting the blonde to look at her. "How long are you here for?"

"Hypothetically, for however long Robbie can put up with me; but realistically, about 4 weeks. I just had to get away from Australia; it hasn't been the same since you left by the way." She added, looking up at Chase. He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, really not wanting to talk about home.

"So when did you get here?" Wilson asked politely, making Aura sigh dramatically, which earned her another flick on the back on the head from Chase.

"About 11:30 last night, so I haven't looked around the city or anything. I'm doing a little bit better with the jetlag and time change though."

"What's the time difference between here and Australia?"

"About 12 hours." Chase and Aura said simultaneously.

"Wow, I'm surprised you're not still sleeping." Wilson said jokingly.

"She has more energy than what's humanly necessary." Chase said, earning a playful glare from Aura.

"Oh very funny. But," She looked down at the other doctors. "I know you guys have a pretty crazy schedule, but I'm going to check out a bar near Robbie's apartment, anyone want to go with me? Robbie won't because he doesn't drink."

"I'll go, I just won't drink…it's not my thing." Chase said, poking her on the back of her head.

"That sounds good. Count me in." Cameron said as Wilson nodded and smiled kindly. Chase casually stretched and made eye contact with House, silently asking him if he wanted to come along. House nodded slightly with a secret smile that only Chase could see. House turned back towards the board and erased the symptoms and picked up the case folder.

"What are you doing?" Foreman asked, finally saying something.

"Going out drinking sounds much better than this case." Chase chuckled quietly as Aura laughed loudly.

"I like him! He's your boss?" She asked, looking up at Chase.

"Yep, lucky me, huh?" Aura carefully raised an eyebrow, thinking that Chase's statement had a double meaning. Chase widened his eyes slightly and briefly, silently telling her that they'll talk about it later.

"Wish I had a boss like him."

"You don't." Cameron and Foreman said simultaneously; Aura shook her head and smiled.

"So are you in for tonight?" She asked, looking at Foreman who shrugged.

"Why not?"

"Awesome! Robbie, you're the Designated Driver, so don't drink."

"Oh darn."

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**Like I said, this story is going under a lot of editing. I know I haven't posted a chapter in a really long time, but I felt like this story needed to be edited so to make my readers happy, I'm doing just that ^_^**

**And again, if you come across something that doesn't make sense, then that means that I've changed it somehow.**

**Reviews would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	2. Check Out

**Dearest Readers,**

"**I love blood and violence! I've got a boner for murder!" ~Sarge (RVB)**

**I honestly don't have much to say other than the usual: I'm editing this story.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**The Check-Out**

The bar that they decided to go to was actually one that House and Chase go to from time to time, whenever they needed to get out of the apartment usually. They all sat at a square table against the wall and were able to relax quite quickly. Chase discreetly grabbed House's hand and held it underneath the table, not wanting to draw attention to them.

"Pst!" Aura whispered from across the table. Chase ignored her and tried to hear what Wilson was saying. "PST!" Chase rolled his eyes and looked at her.

"What?" She pointed to somewhere to his left.

"There's a _really _cute blonde over there who is _totally_ checking you out! Look at him! He's gorgeous." Chase sighed exasperatedly and, to satisfy Aura, he glanced briefly to where she had pointed. A young blonde man quickly turned away from him and back to his friends. Chase turned back to Aura, not saying anything.

"Well?" She asked, now having everyone's attention. Chase let go of House's hand and folded it with his other on top of the table.

"First off, I never told them," He nodded towards everyone else at the table, excluding House, "That I was gay…thanks for that." He gave her a look and Aura made an 'oops' face. "Secondly, I'm not interested."

"Sorry about that, but come on! He's cute and you're _still _single."

"I never said I was." Chase said coolly, taking a sip from his water. Aura squealed.

"You never told me you were seeing someone! Who is he, who is he, who is he?" She asked excitedly, bouncing in her seat. Chase blushed, realizing that he had everyone's attention. He smiled as House placed a hand on his leg. He remembered them saying that they weren't going to make a big deal out of their relationship, but…he was going to make Aura wait in suspense until the time came.

"I'm not going to tell you." There was a groan from everyone at the table. Chase looked at them, realizing that everyone was curious. He laughed.

"Hint, please!" Aura said, taking a huge gulp from her drink. Chase thought a moment and grinned.

"Well…he's one of those 'tall, dark, and handsome mystery' men." Aura sighed blissfully.

"The best kind. How long have you guys been together? If it's been more than a few months…I'm going to kill you." Chase picked up his glass.

"Oh…almost…two years." He said into his glass as he took a sip. Aura spluttered on her drink as everyone looked at him in shock.

"You never said anything about seeing someone, much less for that long." Cameron said and Chase shrugged his shoulders.

"You guys never asked."

"Oh please! Don't give me that!" Aura protested. She suddenly looked at him differently and Chase became worried.

"What?"

"This guy must be treating you well because you're practically glowing, my dear. You look so much better than the last time I saw you." She said, Chase knowing that she also meant that he looked healthy.

"Does he work at PPTH?" Wilson asked and Chase nodded again.

"Oh, are we playing 20 questions now?" House asked and Chase rolled his eyes.

"Yes he does, but I'm not saying what department because it's not a big deal." Wilson frowned; this relationship must be pretty serious if Chase is protecting it this much.

"Does he have stunningly good looks?" House butted in, making Chase roll his eyes again.

"Sure, let's go with that." He retorted, glaring playfully at House.

"Excuse me." A voice said to Chase's left and he looked up. It was the blonde that Aura pointed out earlier.

"Hi there!" Aura squealed, now bummed that she won't get to see Chase hook up with someone.

"Hi, um, I'm Devin." He said, extending his hand which Chase shook smiling.

"Robert."

"O." House said as Chase let go of Devin's hand and looked at him.

"What?"

"O. Good God, you don't even know your own name…you're Roberto." Chase rolled his eyes and looked at Devin, who was blushing slightly.

"It's just Robert. Would you like to join us?" He asked as Aura was already pulling up a seat.

"Sure, love to." Devin sat, blonde hair falling in his eyes. He was kind of cute. Chase saw out of the corner of his eye, the look on House's face:

He was jealous.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Aura asked and Devin shook his head and laughed.

"No, California. Judging by your voice, you're not from here either."

"We," She pointed to herself and Chase, "are from the Down Under, the Outback, Mate! I'm going back in about 4 weeks, but I don't think I'll leave until Robbie tells me who this 'special somebody' is. The suspense is killing me!" Chase laughed, thinking that maybe he should just tell them about him and House before Devin hits on him or something along those lines.

"Have you tried the '20 Questions approach'?" Devin asked and Aura nodded, making a silly face.

"Yeah, but I know him well enough." She glared playfully at Chase, "He won't budge until it comes out on its own." Chase nodded in agreement.

He jumped slightly as he felt Devin's foot graze his; he looked at the blonde who was staring back at him. House noticed this and picked up his cane and jabbed Devin hard in the chest. Devin let out a yelp as he rubbed his chest, glaring heatedly at House.

"What the hell was that for?" He asked, angrily.

"Don't even think about touching my Wombat again." House warned, tucking his cane underneath the table again, glaring dangerously. Everyone's heads snapped towards him.

'_MY…Wombat'? Chase…and House? No…fucking…way._

"Fine." He stood, glaring at House who was looking darkly up at him. The blonde huffed and stalked off. Silence fell around the table and House grabbed Chase's hand lightly and rubbed it soothingly.

"So much for not making a big deal, huh?" Chase laughed and nodded, taking a sip of his water.

"You guys have been together for _2 years_ and we're just now finding out about it?" Wilson asked incredulously. They both nodded.

"We didn't want to make a big deal out of it…and we didn't want our relationship to interfere with our work at the hospital." Chase said as he looked at them all, laughing slightly at the look on their faces.

"Okay, I understand not telling them…but what about me!" Aura asked dramatically, throwing her arms in the air.

"You make a big deal out of everything. Plus, I knew if I told you, you would fly over here and bombard him with questions and threats!" Aura pouted, and then turned to House.

"You better treat him right or I swear to God I will chop off your fingers and make you eat them."

"Colorful." House said with raised eyebrows.

"Aura! Quit being so violent and he does treat me right! You said so yourself, I'm doing much better now than I used to be!" Aura thought about this and nodded, agreeing.

"Fine, I'll step aside…however," She turned back towards House, "You break his heart…I break your neck."

"Sounds fair." House said as he felt Wilson's stare fall on him. He knew Wilson would want to talk about this later. Chase sighed and he felt House's hand tighten around his. It was such a relief to have their relationship out in the open, especially with no one judging them…that was a bonus.

**xXxXx**

**Alright Gang,**

**As always patience and reviews would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	3. Discussion of a Lifetime

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Ah, that brings back memories of people being trapped in the snow and having to eat each other."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Discussion of a Lifetime**

Wilson walked into the pub that he had agreed to meet House at. The place was slightly dark and the smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the air. He walked up to the bar, ordered his drink, and sat with House at a table in the corner. House seemed to be deep in thought for he didn't notice Wilson sit down across from him until Wilson cleared his throat. House looked up and Wilson saw a look of uncertainty in the blue eyes and was instantly concerned about what House wanted to talk to him about.

It had been about a month since House and Chase's relationship came to light. Ever since then, Wilson noticed that House seemed more distant than usual and always seemed to have something on his mind. This bothered Wilson because it took a lot to get House to think so deeply about something that wasn't work-related, but he was very glad that the older doctor decided to actually speak up about whatever was bothering him. Wilson waited patiently for House to say something, knowing that House needed to be the first one to say something. House shoved his hand into his jacket pocket and placed an object on the table between them.

It was a black box.

Wilson raised an eyebrow at House who nudged the box towards him, beckoning him to open it. Cautiously, Wilson picked up the small, hard box and opened it. He felt his heart stop and his breath get stuck in his throat as he stared at what was twinkling back up at him:

A diamond wedding ring.

"You…you…what?" Wilson stuttered looking up at House who was stirring his drink aimlessly.

"It's not for you, Idiot. It's for Chase." Wilson rolled his eyes.

"I know that! You're…proposing?"

"I wouldn't buy him something like that if I wasn't." Wilson was at a loss for words.

"This is a huge step, House. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Don't make me have second thoughts." Wilson nodded, not wanting to push him. House was nervous, though he wouldn't admit it.

"How are you going to ask?" House shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

"Not sure."

Wilson couldn't believe it. House was going to propose to Chase. Wilson looked up and saw that House was fiddling with his fingers nervously. House was the most nervous he's ever been in his life. Wilson smiled and took a closer look at the ring, taking it out of the box.

House must have spent quite a bit of money on it…the diamond was a good size. The main diamond was surrounded by smaller diamonds that also went around the whole length of the band. He was twirling it between his fingers when he saw an etching on the inside of the band:

_You are my sunshine in the dark_

Wilson smiled; he didn't realize that House had a soft, romantic side to him. He put the ring back in the box, closed it and slid it across the table towards House who put it back into his jacket pocket.

"Do you know when you're going to ask?" Wilson asked, trying to ease House of his nerves.

"No, I don't think Chase would want it to be a big deal."

"I don't think he's even expecting it." Wilson hid his smile.

"That's what I'm hoping for."

"How do you Aura will react to this?" House thought a moment.

"I haven't told her actually." He huffed a laugh.

"You might want to do that so that she doesn't have a spazz-attack when she finds out her best friend's engaged."

"Good point, I'll call her later on." House continued to look worried, pushing his drink from side-to-side. Wilson thought he knew what was wrong.

"He's not going to say no." House stopped pushing his drink and glanced up at Wilson. "You two have been together for a long time and you've been helping him through the toughest period of his life. You both have a strong relationship; he won't say no."

"You don't know that for sure." House mumbled, continuing to push his drink side-to-side.

"You're right, I don't know. But if he means that much to you…you'll take the chance." House thought about it for a minute and nodded slightly. He didn't want to admit it, but it made sense.

He couldn't imagine his life without Chase; he needed the Aussie, more than the younger man thought. He took the ring back out, opened the box, and looked at it. It was bizarre how a simple question make him the most nervous he's ever been in his life. He snapped the box close and looked up at Wilson.

"This doesn't get out to anyone, got it?" Wilson nodded and House stood to leave. "Do you think he'll like the ring?"

"He'll love it. Now get going, Chase is probably wondering where you are." Wilson said smiling; House nodded, a small smile gracing his lips and he left the pub, leaving a smiling Wilson looking after him.

**HouseXChase**

Chase was sitting on the couch eating apple slices reading a book when House walked into their apartment. Chase looked up and smiled at him, beckoning him towards the couch. House took a seat next to Chase who instantly curled up against him, laying the plate of apple on House's lap.

House looked down at the top of Chase's head as the blonde continued to munch slowly on the apple slices and read his book. House had bought the ring earlier that day and he looked at the man who would, hopefully, stay with him forever. When he first walked into the apartment and saw Chase, he felt as though he were seeing him for the first time. He started to see Chase in a different light; not in a bad way, but in a way that he's never considered before. He seemed to glow and bring peace to the apartment. His heart jumped like a teenager's would as he looked at the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The only problem is:

Does Chase feel the same way?

"Want one?" Chase asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

House looked at what Chase was holding up to him: an apple slice. House smiled and took it, munching on it quietly. Chase had been very good about eating every day. He mainly munched on fruit, but House didn't care what he was eating just as long as he was consuming something. House planted a kiss on top of Chase's head.

"Love you, Wombat." Chase placed the empty plate and his book on the other side of House and snuggled closer, placing his head on House's shoulder.

"I love you too." He whispered and House wrapped his arms around him and inhaled his intoxicating scent. The way their bodies naturally fitted together and how they were always comfortable with each other made House think he could get used to spending the rest of his life like this.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**I know that my Chase is more feminine than usual, but this is just a preference. If you don't like my Chase, I'm sorry…not really b/c this is the way I want him to be. ^_^**

**As always, patience and reviews would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	4. Best Friend Stamp of Approval

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Wait…you're just gonna leave him there with a grenade stuck up his ass?"**

**This chapter is shorter than it originally was b/c I basically cut out the last half, so this chapter is VERY short.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Best Friend Stamp of Approval**

He sat at his desk, twirling his cane aimlessly as he stared at the diamond ring on his lap. He didn't want anyone else to know that he was thinking about proposing to Chase, truly cautious about what their reactions would be. He turned towards his cell phone which lay on the desk next to him, thinking if he should call now or later. House figured that it would probably be best to talk to her face-to-face, especially about something like this.

He closed the box and placed it in his pocket while picking up his cell phone. Aura had given him her number as they parted ways from the bar and he 'promised upon the pinkies' to call. He rolled his eyes at Aura's terminology and dialed her number.

"Hello?" Her voice was crystal clear even via cell phone.

"Aura, its House."

"Hey there Mister! What are you up to on this fine night?" House rolled his eyes while smiling slightly.

"I need to talk to you…in person." The line was quiet for a few seconds before Aura spoke again.

"Is it about Robbie? Is he alright? I didn't really see him today." He wasn't too surprised at the sound of concern in her voice.

"Yes it's about Chase and yes, he's fine." He heard her exhale deeply.

"Good, if he's alright…what's there to talk about?"

"Just meet me at the bar we went to earlier at around 10, alright?"

"Yes Master. I'll see you soon." House hung up and pulled out the ring to look at it again.

To say that he was nervous would be an understatement; he was terrified. Even though he had no idea when he was going to pop the question, he was slightly on edge but he didn't bark at people like he usually would. He glanced at his watch: 9:15pm.

He stood and left a note for Chase telling him that he left early and to not wait for him, all the while his nerves were growing as he wondered what Aura's reaction would be when he told her that he wanted to marry her best friend.

**HouseXChase**

They sat at a table in the corner and both were pushing their drinks around on the table. House decided to take the same approach with Aura as he did with Wilson. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the small, black box and placed on the table between them. Aura's eyebrow rose with curiosity; House nudged the box towards her, silently telling her to open it. She picked up the box and opened it; her eyes grew wide and she let out a gasp as she looked at the ring. She looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips.

"You're proposing?" She asked excitedly; House nodded, glad that she wasn't yelling at him.

"Yeah, I am. What do you think his reaction will be?" Aura's smile grew as she looked at him.

"Well, I think I can safely say that he won't say no. Ever since you guys told everyone about you two being together, you're all he'll talk about." House quirked his head to the side; Aura took a deep breath as she continued.

"With that being said, you need to know something…I don't know what you've done or what you're doing, but keep doing it. It's been years since I've seen him this happy and I don't want to see that go away. You make him happy, House, and he's been hurt in ways that we won't really understand." She paused.

"You're helping him out of the toughest period of his life, you're helping him overcome an eating disorder that he's had for years and you're making him see that he truly is beautiful and loveable. If you go through with this…I can't begin to imagine how happy he'll be. He won't say no…he loves you deeply and I know you feel the same about him."

She smiled at him as she let her words sink in. Aura gave him the ring and he twirled it between his fingers, the light reflecting off the diamonds.

"You don't mind?" He asked after a few minutes.

"Hell no! Go for it Mister! You make him happy…if Robbie is happy, then I'm happy…and all is right in the world." She chuckled slightly and House smiled as a huge weight was lifted off his chest.

Aura gave him permission to propose to Chase. He then felt panic coarse through him as a thought came to his mind: the only thing to do now…is ask. He looked up at Aura who was looking at him as though she could read his thoughts.

"You'll be fine, House. Like I said, he won't say no…he loves you too much."

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**Like I said, this chapter was REALLY short. I thought that getting rid of the last half of this chapter makes the story better in general.**

**As always, patience and reviews would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	5. Meeting from the Past

**Dearest Readers,**

**~ "Sorry, I forgot my English to Blarg-Blarg dictionary!"  
- "Oh I had one of those, but I threw it out…it didn't have many pictures."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Meeting from the Past**

Chase, Cameron, and Foreman sat in the conference room waiting for House, who was late…as always. Chase smiled slightly as he listened to Cameron and Foreman bickering about House and his behavior and such. He focused on his puzzle and chewed on the end of his pen. They looked up and were surprised when Wilson walked into the room, looking frazzled and irritated. He looked around and slumped in a seat next to Cameron.

"Wilson," Cameron asked, "What are you doing here?"

"House told me to come here and he's not here…wonderful." Wilson huffed as he leaned back in his seat and ran his hands over his face. Just then, House strolled in, carrying a file. He hooked his cane on the board, picked up a marker and started to write symptoms of their newest patient.

"House, why am I here?"

"It's one of Life's greatest mysteries, Jimmy. Why are we here? Are we a coincidence? Or is there really a God who created us or—"

"I meant why am I here in this room." Wilson cut in exasperatedly.

"Maybe I just wanted your company." Wilson rolled his eyes and Chase chuckled slightly.

"Again?"

The door opened and a man stepped in, looking nervous. They turned to look at him and he seemed to squirm under their gaze. He was a big, tan man with rippling arms and chest. He had blonde cropped hair and his clothes seemed to cling to him in desperation. He stepped closer into the room, twiddling his fingers nervously.

"I'm looking for Dr. Robert Chase and I was told that I can find him here." Chase's face paled as he stared at the big man.

"Get away from me." Chase said quickly, jumping from his seat and putting it between them. The man cautiously walked around the chair, never breaking eye contact with Chase. House felt his protective instincts kick in and he grabbed his cane, ready to strike this man if needed.

"Robert, listen to me. I didn't come here to hurt you."

"Then leave…now." Chase said tersely. The man sighed heavily.

"I came here to apologize." Chase let out a snort of sarcastic laughter.

"Apologize? It's a bit late for that. Now _leave." _He emphasized the last word, but the man wouldn't listen; instead, he moved closer.

"Listen you brat, I came all the way from Australia to apologize to you and I come to find that you haven't changed a bit. You're still the same pathetic, cowardly, repulsive human being you were when you were a child." He smirked, his eyes drifting over the blonde's figure. "Plus you've let yourself go quite a bit." He added, knowing that Chase has always had a body-image problem.

Everyone was on their feet at the last comment and Chase felt himself freeze on the inside. His father's words began to ring inside his head and he put his hands over his ears to try to block out the noise. House grabbed Chase's arm and pulled him towards him more roughly than he meant too, making Chase release a sound of surprise. House pulled the blonde slightly behind him.

Chase began to see memories from his childhood of this man forcing him into a corner and beating him. He gripped the hem of House's shirt and clenched his eyes shut, remembering the impact of the blows against his body; hearing the curses and insults thrown his way mingle with his father's voice.

The man stepped closer to Chase, glaring at him. That's when House acted. House grabbed his cane in both his hands and jammed it into the man's stomach, making him bend over gasping for air. The man backed up, still clutching his stomach and glaring at the blonde behind the man who just attacked him.

"I'll be back you brat. But, it won't be to apologize; such a fucking waste of time." He left, leaving everyone in the room in stunned silence. Chase sighed heavily, letting go of House's shirt.

"I'm not talking about it." Chase said with a hint of anger as he walked away from House to grab his things. They were surprised by his now present anger and House stared worriedly at the blonde, who was now slinging his computer bag over his shoulder.

"Chase?" Cameron asked tentatively. "Who was that man?" Chase looked back at her, a glare in his features as his father's voice was still whispering in his ears.

"I don't want to talk about it." He snapped and left the conference room, House staring worriedly after him. He quickly hid his worry.

"What was all that about?" Wilson asked, looking over at House, thinking that he knew the answer. House made eye contact with him and Wilson saw the worry in his blue eyes.

_House doesn't know either._

**HouseXChase**

He arrived at their apartment and saw Chase dressed in sweats, curled up on the couch with his book. House walked over to the couch and saw by Chase's feet, tapping his cane against the floor. He eyed the blonde who was resting his head on the arm rest, seeming to now be aware of his presence.

"Robbie?"

"I'm not talking about him." Chase said instantly, looking down at him. House reached over and grabbed Chase's arm, pulling him up and causing the blonde to fall against him. Chase had dropped his book on the floor and wrapped his arm around House's middle, laying his head on House's shoulder.

It was moments like these where House liked to think about their relationship. He still had the ring box in his pocket and he hoped that Chase couldn't feel it. As he looked down at the blonde hair, it dawned on him that through their whole relationship, they've never slept together. He pondered this thought for a moment. He's been with Chase for about two years and it was the most fulfilling relationship he's ever been in and yet…no sex was involved.

He thought about other relationships that he's been in; he cringed at himself when he realized that they mainly consisted of one-night stands…and Stacey. He shook his head; no, he was not going to think of her. He was with Chase now and he was the happiest he's ever been in his life.

"Greg?" House blinked at Chase's soft voice breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" He looked down, seeing Chase looking back up at him.

"Thank you for making him go away." House placed a kiss on his forehead.

"You didn't expect me to stand by and do nothing did you? He was going to hurt you, I wouldn't tolerate that. I had to protect you somehow." Chase smiled and lightly kissed House and pulled away.

House then realized that Chase's arm was wrapped around his waist, awfully close to his pockets. If Chase's arm went lower or shifted in a certain way, he would feel the ring box. He needed to make an excuse to get Chase to move his arm away from his pockets.

He shifted, making Chase sit up and look at him worried.

"What's wrong?" Chase asked and House pecked him on the lips before standing gingerly.

"Leg's sore." He lied and Chase nodded, buying the lie.

House sighed as he popped a couple of Vicodin, just to make it more convincing. He limped towards their bedroom to make it appear as though he need to keep his leg moving, when he was really going to put the ring box in a place where Chase couldn't find it.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**I hope this chapter was okay! By the way, I know that it's awfully "coincidental" that Wilson and Cuddy end up in the conference room...but I want them there.**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	6. Behind the Aura

**Dearest Readers,**

"**You little pirate, where did you hide all that booty?"**

**This chapter has been shortened a little bit.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Behind the Aura**

"Oh, please! You're a lying little twit!" Aura cried as she stared disbelieving across the table at Chase who had an eyebrow raised and arms crossed.

Everyone was at the bar that they went to the first time Aura came to America. Talking about the dreaded days of high school, Chase seemed to have something to hide and everyone knew it. House had a smirk on his face as he watched his blonde lover glower back at Aura.

"If it weren't for me," Aura continued, "you would've had no friends! You would've been a loser, Loser. And what the hell was with that book you carried everywhere?"

"Hey! _The Scarlet Letter _is an amazing book and you know it."

"You're a hopeless romantic."

"Was...I was a hopeless romantic. But back then...yes, I was so shut up." Aura laughed and so did everyone else. Aura swirled her drink mindlessly, whistling some tune under her breath.

"Aura?" House asked.

"Yes, Master?" Chase rolled his eyes and took a sip of his Coke.

"Why did you shorten your name to 'Aura'? Did you just not like your whole name, like Robbie here?"

"I like my name." Chase injected.

"Liar." Chase huffed.

"Well, I do like 'Aurora' it's just it felt...right to shorten it to 'Aura'." Everyone's brow wrinkled in confusion. Chase excused himself to the restroom, House watched him leave cautiously. Aura, making sure that Chase was out of ear-shot, continued.

"Robbie wasn't exactly the happiest, bright person when we were growing up. Very dark, not only in dress, but also in attitude. It took me years, literally, to find out about his personal life. He really didn't want to talk about it and I didn't pry into it. I waited for him to open up on his own and he did over time." She took a sip of her drink and chuckled.

"I make fun of him all the time, but he's an incredibly smart guy. He loves reading classical literature and anything medically related. He usually kept to himself when we were growing up, so it was mainly just me and him. He didn't have many friends." Her eyes softened. "We're basically siblings, but I never knew what was going on in his personal life until we were in our late-teens." She looked up at House from across the table.

"I'm assuming you know some things that I'm…hinting at?" House nodded.

"Yeah, I know." The others looked between them curiously, but figured it was best to not pry. "And he was able to hide all that?" Aura nodded.

"Very well, actually. I never went to his house; either he came to my house, the park, or places like that; but we never went to his house." Cameron sat up slightly.

"So why did you shorten your name?"

"After Robbie started opening up to me, I became very worried about him. I was with him every time I could be. I walked him there, but never went inside. I even told my mother about him and she was the one who put the idea of shortening my name into my head." She laughed at the memory, "My mother strongly believed in karma and things like that. She told me that someone's aura was radiation that someone gives off...basically how they subconsciously come across to other people. She said that a person's aura never goes away and always remains close. I was always near Robbie. I never plan to leave him either. So...that's why I felt like I needed to shorten my name."

"Aura, I need your expertise." Chase said as he sat down next to House.

"Yes, Dearest Robbie?" Aura asked, hoping that he didn't hear any part of their conversation. Chase held up a purple squishy packet and a blue squishy packet.

"Moonlight Path?" Shaking the purple packet, "or Fresh Linen?" Shaking the blue packet. Aura stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"Hmmm...Definitely Moonlight Path."

"What are those anyway?" Cameron asked and Chase looked towards her like a child.

"Air fresheners."

"You stole air fresheners from the restroom?" House asked, trying not to laugh. Chase jokingly glared at him.

"Why don't you just take both?" Aura asked, a bit confused by her best friend's train of thought. Chase sighed dramatically.

"Because if I took both, then that would officially be stealing...and stealing is wrong, Stupid." Aura cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Chase sighed again.

"There are 2...count them: 2. if there was only one missing...no one would care. But if both of them were gone, then someone would care."

"I highly doubt that people in a bar are going to notice that the air fresheners are missing. Chances are, the people who normally go in that restroom are drunk." House said as they laughed. Chase pouted childishly.

"Fine," he said, pretending that his feelings were hurt, "I see how it is. You guys don't care about the hygiene of the air you breathe."

"'Hygiene of the air you breathe'?" Aura said, choking on her drink. Chase pouted again.

"That's what Febreze is for." House injected as Chase put the air fresheners in his pocket.

**HouseXChase**

"I hate you." House grumbled as Chase put the Fresh Linen air freshener on the mirror. Chase shot House a smile as he started the car.

"You don't hate me."

"I do too."

"You're silly."

"Look who's talking, Mr. I'm-too-cheap-to-go-to-Walmart-to-buy-myself-air-fresheners-so-I-steal-them-from-bars." Chase laughed as he continued towards their apartment building.

House glanced over at Chase to see a light smile playing on the young man's lips. His hair fluttered slightly as the wind from the open window passed through the car. He looked at Chase's left hand that laid on the opening of the window, eyeing his bare ring finger. He felt a smile creep to his face at the idea of having the ring on that finger.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**Like I said, I took a few things out of this chapter so it's a little bit shorter than it originally was.**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	7. Return of Rider

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Now get up here so I can paint the bull's eye on your back! Uh…my "bull's eye," I of course mean camouflage…now hurry up, Cupcake."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Return of Rider**

"Greg! Come on, let's go!" Chase shouted down the hallway, computer bag on his shoulder and a slight smile on his face. House always made them late, but Chase was in the process of an attempt to change that.

"Hang on, Blondie!" House called back as he came down the hallway, walking much slower than usual.

Chase rolled his eyes and walked towards him, knowing that House was being slow on purpose so that they would be dramatically late. He grabbed House's hand and pulled him towards the door, but he felt House yank him back towards him. Chase let out a surprised yelp and found himself pressed firmly against House, with said man looking down at him fondly. Chase smiled up at him and wrapped his arms around House's neck, letting his bag fall. House brought Chase closer by wrapping his arms around the young man's thin waist pulled him closer.

"We're going to be late once again, Good Sir." Chase said with a grin and House placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I'd much rather stay here." House closed the gap between them and Chase gladly allowed it. Chase didn't really bother to fight for dominance anymore; he knew House would win anyway. But, when he was up to it, he would try. House invaded Chase's mouth greedily, making Chase moan slightly. House ran his hands up the blonde's back, noticing that Chase's bones were not as prominent as they used to be. Chase now found the idea of not going to work to be very tempting, but his thoughts were interrupted when House's phone began to ring. They pulled apart slowly, House sighing a bit angrily as Chase picked his bag off the floor.

"What?" House barked into his phone. Chase always felt sorry for the person on the other end of the line whenever House was mad.

"It's Cuddy. Where the hell are you?"

"Chase is taking forever to get ready and-" Chase slapped his arm lightly.

"Bull. Chase does his best to get you here close to on time. Get here in 20 minutes." And she hung up. House looked at his phone, closing it.

"Now that was just rude." He said, looking up at Chase who was trying hard not to laugh.

"You had that coming." Chase said, laughing slightly. He grabbed House's hand again and led them out the door.

**HouseXChase**

"Fear not! We are alive and well and ready to kick some disease-infected ass!" House shouted as he dramatically limped into the conference room, Chase following behind, really trying to not shake his head at his lover's behavior. House turned to him.

"Psst. Wombat...you're supposed to say your line." Chase gave House a pointed look as he hung his computer bag on the coat rack. "Psst." House said again, clearly not giving up until Chase said what he was supposed to. Chase sighed, defeated and turned towards Cameron and Foreman who were looking at him apprehensively.

"Sir House-alot is on a quest to retrieve the Holy Scripture of Medicine: the cure to Sir Foreman's stubbornness and Lady Cameron's emotional instability." Chase said as he sat heavily in his seat, looking at the puzzle in the newspaper. Cameron and Foreman glared at House who was staring back at them, a childish grin on his face.

"I'm not emotionally unstable!" Cameron cried, her face turning red. Chase made a "tisk" sound, but Cameron ignored it.

"I'm going to choose to not say anything because I have a feeling that's not going to do anything." Foreman said as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Oh you're good, Homie." House said as he turned towards the door and felt his blood run cold. "Chase, come here." Chase looked up at him confused.

"Why?" Cameron and Foreman were looking at their boss with confused looks as well.

"Chase, just come here."

"Not until you tell me why. Why do I have to move 6 feet from where I'm at now?" House felt anger and panic rise in him.

"Chase, if you want to admire my good looks ever again, then you'll move your ass over here."

"But-"

"Now!" Chase jumped, hurt that House had shouted at him.

But then he looked closely at his lover's blue eyes and saw something that's rarely there: panic. Fear. Chase stood slowly, keeping his eyes locked on House's. He felt his heart start to pound in his ears.

_What's gotten into him?_

He walked over to House and the older man grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind him.

"House! I don't understand. What's wrong?" Chase asked worriedly, as House refused to let him move from behind him in any way.

Chase had always known that House was possessive and protective of him and that came from love, but what was going on now? Chase tried to peer around House to see what was making him panic. But House used his other arm to push him back into place directly behind him.

_Why is he making himself into a shield? A shield from what? _

"You two," House said firmly to Cameron and Foreman, "get by the counter and hide behind the lower cabinet doors. Foreman, put Cameron behind you." They stared at him confused, but didn't want him to yell at them, so they did as they were told. Kneeling down behind a cabinet door, Foreman put Cameron directly behind him, protecting her from whatever House was so worried about.

"Aw, well isn't this sweet?" A man's voice said and Chase felt his heart stop.

Foreman peered over the cabinet door and recognized the man immediately: the man in the doorway was here not too long ago, seeking forgiveness from Chase. He looked over at the blonde and saw him clinging to the back of House's shirt with his eyes clamped shut. Cameron peered around Foreman and gasped quietly, recognizing the man as well.

House glared heatedly at the man, trying to keep Chase as closely behind him as possible. He started to become frustrated as Chase kept trying to look around him to see what he was protecting him from. Chase let out a small sound of pain when House pinched his arm, telling to stop struggling against him. Chase remained still.

Cameron looked over at the couple when she heard Chase give the small sound of pain, wondering what it was. When she realized what happened, she peered over Foreman's shoulder, placing her hands on his back. She looked over at the man threatening Chase and instantly saw why House forced Chase to get behind him and told her and Foreman to get behind the cabinet:

The man was tapping a gun against his leg.

"What do you want this time?" House barked, feeling Chase shake behind him.

"Just came by to say hello to my friend." The man said in a sickly sweet voice. House glared.

"He's not your friend, so leave."

"No. Not only has he not given what I want, but he needs to pay for his disrespect that he showed me a few days ago."

"Don't come anywhere near him." House warned, feeling Chase's hands tighten their grip on his shirt.

He took a glance over the man's shoulder and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Wilson leading a very angry Cuddy towards the conference room. Never in his life would he have thought that he would be relieved to see an angry Cuddy.

They stopped in their tracks a few yards from the door, taking in the scene: Foreman hiding behind a cabinet door, with Cameron behind him, and House standing protectively in front of Chase who was clinging to House's shirt. Wilson saw House dart his eyes to the Oncologist's right, indicating to get the police.

Wilson nodded and ran towards that direction as Cuddy silently made her way towards the door, not wanting to draw the attention of the unknown man. She turned to see Wilson and 5 police officers run towards the conference room. The officers talked to each other, devising a way to get into the room without anyone getting hurt. They stood from their crouched position and quietly made their way towards the door. Wilson beckoned to Cuddy to get by him, which she did swiftly.

"Sir, you're going to have to come with us." An officer said from behind the man who spun around, surprised. Chase stiffened when he heard the new voice, but not daring to take a look for who it is.

"I just need to get something from Dr. Chase and then I'll be on my way." The man said, turning back towards House.

"Sir, you can get whatever it is later. But, right now, you're coming with us." He reached out towards the man, who turned around again and pointed the gun at the officer's face. The tension was now even thicker as Wilson and Cuddy peered through the glass to take in the scene. "There's no need to get violent here, Sir. We are simply going to transport you from the hospital."

"Shut up." The man snarled.

"Wait." A quiet, timid voice said. The man looked over his shoulder to see Chase trying to get out from behind House. "Greg." Chase said quietly, placing a hand on House's outstretched arm.

They stared at each other for a little while. Chase silently telling House that he was not going to be far away and that this was something that he needed to do. House understood this, but was still hesitant to lower his arm. Chase gave him a tiny smile and turned towards the man, stepping about 3 feet in front of House. Chase held his hands behind his back, wringing his fingers slightly.

"If you just wanted that one thing from me, then you can have it." The man's smile widened. House's attention was drawn from the man's face to Chase's moving hands, seeing that his hands were starting to turn slightly red.

"I'm sorry." The man grinned.

"Good boy. That wasn't so hard was it?"

"I'm sorry that it's actually you who are everything that my father said I was." The man's face reddened and he swung around and pointed his gun at Chase.

The officer immediately went into action when he saw that the man's attention was fully on Chase. He tackled the man to the ground, gun flying from his hand. They struggled but the officer sat on the man's back, putting his hands in handcuffs. Chase felt himself release a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. The police officers were walking the man out of the room when Chase called them before they left.

"Wait." Everyone turned to him, confused. A small sarcastic smile was on his face.

"Hurts doesn't it?"

The man glared at him with pure hatred as the police dragged him from the room, Chase laughing slightly. He heard House sigh lightly behind him and turned around, seeing him relieved. Chase gave him a look that told him that he was fine, but House knew better:

Chase was shaken up by the arrival of the man and was just trying to not make House worry about it too much.

Foreman and Cameron came around from the cabinet, surprised that Cuddy and Wilson were with them in the conference room. There were a few moments of silence before Cameron spoke.

"Chase, who was that guy?" The blonde was quiet for a few moments and House glared over at her, telling her to be quiet.

"His name's Rider," Chase started looking over at her, surprising everyone that he answered. "I've known him since I was a kid." They nodded, knowing that Chase wouldn't tell them anymore.

"In case you couldn't tell…he's a prick." Chase chuckled lightly as he went to grab his stuff. "He's always been like that though." House eyed him carefully as Chase swung his bag over his shoulder with his jacket over his other arm. He felt his heart skip with worry as he watched Chase walk towards the door.

"Something tells me that the police will be back here to ask me about Rider, so I think I'll save them the effort of coming here just by going to them." Chase said, giving House a look telling him to stop worrying about him. "I'll be coming back though, depending how long it takes."

"Take your time, Chase." Cuddy said kindly, knowing that Chase felt bad about leaving. Chase gave her a light smile.

"Hopefully it won't take long. I'll be back later." With that, he left the conference room with House fighting hard against the urge to go after him.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**This chapter ended up being a bit different than the original one, but I think it's much better.**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	8. The Pondering

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Because of Jack Daniels, I couldn't unleash The Beast."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**The Pondering**

"Gregory House!" Chase shouted as he stomped into the conference room, slamming the results of their patient's blood work on the table. Cameron and Foreman looked up at him, confused. House quirked an eyebrow, not really sure what he did to make his lover behave like this.

"Yes?" Chase pulled something out of his lab coat pocket:

It was House's portable TV.

Cameron and Foreman tried to suppress their smiles as Chase gave house a pointed look.

"I found it in Coma Guy's room."

"What were you doing in there?"

"Looking for you."

"Oh shucks. I can't believe I left that in there. I always remember to never leave evidence of my existence in that room! You didn't change the channel did you? I need my General Hospital fix."

Chase's lips curled into a grin as he walked over to House, giving him the portable TV. House knew what that grin meant: Chase definitely did something that he didn't like, but knew that he wasn't going to get angry at him.

House examined the TV closely; nothing seemed to be wrong with it. Chase let out a quiet laugh as he took his seat at the table, picking up his crossword puzzle and putting the tip of his pen in his mouth. House gave Chase an eerie look before turning on the TV.

"I don't like you anymore." House groaned as he stared at the screen, definitely not seeing General Hospital. Chase's grin widened.

"Of course you do, oh and by the way…it's a marathon today." His grin widened even more at House's groan of misery.

"What is it?" Cameron asked curiously. House didn't answer.

"Yes, House, what is it?" Chase chimed in, clearly enjoying House's current misery.

"House?" Foreman asked, staring at his boss.

"It's…" He sighed heavily, "It's Jersey Shore." Everyone started to laugh heavily as House tried to change the channel.

"Can't do that!" Chase gasped through his laughter.

"Why?" House whined, upset that he couldn't watch General Hospital, but extremely glad to see Chase so happy.

"I locked it on that channel. Took me forever to figure out how to do that, but I did. If you want to change the channel, you'll have to get the password from me [1]." Chase said, going back to laughing. Wilson and Cuddy walked in and stopped, a bit confused as to why everyone except House was laughing.

"What's going on?" Wilson asked, looking towards Chase for the answer.

"I locked his TV on the MTV channel…there's a marathon of Jersey Shore all day today." Chase said as he started to calm down.

Wilson felt a smile tug at his lips as he looked at his best friend, who was looking at his TV like a lost puppy. Cuddy felt her anger disappear as she laughed behind her hand at House's defeat by Chase. She did come here to yell at House for being late, again, but maybe she could let it slide this time. The laughter in the room started to disappear just as Chase's phone started to ring. He pulled it from his pocket, not bother to look at the Caller ID.

"Dr. Chase."

"I'm watching you, Robert."

"Hey, Aura."

"You're absolutely no fun!" Aura cried from the other end of the line as she walked into the conference room, hanging up her phone. Chase laughed at her defeated face as yet another attempt to scare him failed.

"It's a bit hard to disguise an Australian accent over the phone, especially to someone who knows your voice so well." Chase said, dramatically leaning towards Aura and nudging her with his elbow.

"How can anyone watch this?" House asked, making everyone stare at him.

"What?" Foreman asked stupidly, making House sigh.

"How can anyone watch this crap? It's so fucking stupid. Wombat, please tell me the password before my brain becomes warped by this show."

"Nope." Chase said, childishly shaking his head, making his hair fall into his eyes.

"But I said 'please'!" Chase shook his head again.

"And I said 'nope'!"

**HouseXChase**

They sat in silence at the same table they always do every Friday night that they can get away from the hospital. Wilson eyed House, who seemed to be deep in thought. Although House was a master at hiding his emotions and complexity of his thoughts, Wilson knew when something was bothering him and he had an idea as to what was causing House to think so deeply.

"Can I see it?" He asked tentatively, assuming that House would know what 'it' is.

House reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the ring box and placed it front of Wilson, who opened it and took the ring out, admiring it. It was obvious that House was keeping very good care of the ring over the past month since he bought it. The velvet on the inside of the box didn't have one piece of lint and the diamonds still sparkled brightly. He looked at the inside of the band, reading the words:

_You are my sunshine in the dark_

He smiled slightly, remembering the first time he read those words; it felt like so long ago that they sat here and he found out that House was going to propose.

"Have you…decided…uh…?" He couldn't find the words and House looked up and stared at the ring that Wilson had between his fingers.

"I've been thinking about it, but no…nothing is actually decided yet." Wilson nodded. After knowing House for so many years, he knew that house wanted the proposal to be perfect.

"How's Chase been doing? Health wise, I mean."

"He's doing much better. He's been eating everyday for about a month and a half…maybe longer and he's not as sensitive about gaining weight."

"Well that's good." Silence fell between them.

Wilson looked at his friend from across the table, hardly believing that this man was the same one he knew for so many years. Ever since Chase came to PPTH, he noticed a change in House. It was very small and to most people, there was no change at all, but he could see it. He saw the way that House looked at Chase and talked to him. He wasn't as harsh to Chase as he was to Cameron and Foreman.

Wilson could tell from Chase's first day at PPTH, things were going to change. He still remembered when House first came to his office to talk about his new duckling. Wilson cocked his head to the side slightly as he listened to House talk about Chase, very surprised that he wasn't degrading him or anything like he would to someone else, but instead, he spoke highly of Chase. He remembered hiding his smile behind his hand as he listened to House talk about Chase whenever he was in his office. Chase was really all House would talk about in Wilson's office. It was later on after Chase started working at PPTH that Wilson realized that House was making a special place for Chase in his heart. It took him a while to believe that House would possibly allow himself to be happy.

Wilson never thought that House would ever be happy again after the whole Stacey situation; but Wilson would not hesitate to say that House was more in love with Chase than he ever was with Stacey. House was devastated when Stacey left, Cuddy and Wilson knew that, but now Wilson thought that if Chase were to leave (he doesn't see this happening, but it could), House would not only be devastated…he would die. As horrible as it may sound, Wilson thought that House would become very suicidal if Chase left him.

Chase was House's everything.

There was more to House and Chase's relationship than what most people would know. They seemed to bring out sides of their personalities that would otherwise have remained buried. Yes, House is a critical, brash, frustrating ass, but now Wilson was seeing sides of House that he's never seen or haven't seen in such a long time. House was now being protective, caring, possessive, and happy.

House was actually happy.

Wilson looked back up at House who was still deep in thought. He smiled slightly. House had made it very clear that Chase was his and his alone. No one was allowed to touch him because Chase was his. No one was allowed to look at Chase in a lustful way because Chase was his.

Wilson chuckled. House was never possessive or protective of Stacey. Wilson thought about this for a moment and realized why that was: because not only was Chase more important to him, but House felt like he needed Chase to stay alive.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**Yes, this chapter was more of a "filler".**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	9. The Witch from Yesteryear

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Your Call is Important to Us: The Truth About Bullshit" Book by: Laura Penny**

**^^ Just finished reading this and it's quite interesting.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**The Witch from Yesteryear**

"No! No! Stop! Stop!" Chase cried in between laughs as House sprayed him again with the sink hose.

They were in the kitchen and House was doing his best to keep Chase pinned to the counter with his body and extra arm, as he sprayed Chase with the hose attached to the sink. He stopped the water when he heard Chase sputter and then laugh, becoming breathless. Chase whipped his head up towards House, causing his drenched blonde hair to flip back and stick to his face, splattering House's face with water.

"Greg! Stop it!" Chase cried, trying in vain to make his lover stop spraying him.

"Not until you give me what I want!" House said loudly, smiling widely as he watched the blonde laugh and tried to put his hands in front of his face to prevent House's attack.

"Never! I will not...be...defeated!" Chase laughed, trying to squirm away.

"You are a stubborn man. Surrender!"

"No!"

"I'll keep spraying you until you tell me!"

"Alright!" Chase cried, giving in.

"What?" House asked teasingly, knowing what he said.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you!" Chase spluttered.

"I thought you would see it my way." House teased as he stopped his attack and put the hose back into the sink.

They were both panting heavily. It took a lot of effort on House's part to keep the young Aussie pinned to the counter with only his body and one arm. Chase was trying to catch his breath after being sprayed with water for so long. House looked at the blonde's face and found it to be flushed, but bright.

Chase laughed lightly and patted his hands on House's chest, pushing him away slightly. He reached up and ran a hand through his drenched blonde hair and glared playfully up at House, who was almost as wet as he was. Chase laughed and looked around at the now wet kitchen.

"You dumby, this place is soaked!" House chuckled lightly as he shrugged.

"Oh well." Chase punched him lightly.

"Fine, you win. Get off me, you're heavy."

Chase carefully pushed himself up onto the counter as House went to their bedroom to retrieve the object that was the center of their water battle. House was back in the kitchen with his portable TV in his hand and carefully walked across the soaked floor and leaned against the counter next to Chase, who was drying his hair with a dish towel.

"Okay, Wombat." House said, turning on his TV, "Password please."

"OK." Chase said, watching the unfamiliar show on the screen.

"Alright. Now that you're cooperating, what is it?"

"I just told you, Dumby!" House looked over at the blonde, confused.

"What?" Chase smiled and talked to him slowly.

"The password is 'OK'. The letter 'O' and the letter 'K'. Both capitalized and no space in between."

"That is the most stupid password I've ever heard of."

"If it's stupid, then how come a genius like you couldn't figure out what it was?" Chase countered, looking at House with a grin.

House faltered for a second and glared jokingly at Chase and punched in the password, letting out a cry of delight when he saw General Hospital flash into the screen. Chase rolled his eyes and laid an arm around House's shoulders, watching General Hospital without knowing what was happening.

Chase laid his head on top of House's as he felt himself become tired. He closed his eyes and he smiled lightly when he felt House gently lay a hand over his. It wasn't too long before House heard Chase's breathing even out, indicating that he was asleep.

**HouseXChase**

"Alas," House said in mock sorrow as he walked into the conference room the next morning, "Victory is mine...once again. The Wonderful Wombat...Chase...has fallen."

"What!" Cameron and Foreman asked loudly, thinking that something bad has happened to Chase.

"Oh shut up, you." Chase pouted as he hung his bag and jacket on the coat stand.

"What about Chase? He seems fine." Cameron said worriedly, not understanding what was going on.

"On the outside, he is fine." House said, continuing to pretend to be sorrowful, "But he is not. He is badly wounded on the inside and it is a wound that he shall never recover from."

"Stop being so dramatic." Chase said as he slumped in his seat with his crossword book.

"So, Chase, you're fine?" Cameron asked, looking at him.

"Other than a damaged ego, yeah, I'm fine." Chase answered, too focused on his puzzle to care about what Cameron was saying.

"Damaged ego?" Foreman questioned, looking between Chase and House.

_House and Chase have a bizarre relationship…what the hell is House talking about?_

"I forced the password to my TV out of him. It took a while, but I won."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gloat now because it won't happen again." Chase threatened lightly, throwing a glance at House before returning to his puzzle.

**HouseXChase**

"What…what are you doing here?" Cuddy stuttered as she stared at the person in front of her.

"I think you already know the answer to that." Stacey said as she took a seat across from Cuddy's desk. Cuddy couldn't believe this.

_Stacey? Here? After all this time, why did she decide to come back?_

"Cuddy, have you seen-" Wilson stopped when he saw Stacey in Cuddy's office, looking at him. He felt his blood run cold.

_Stacey? Why is she here? Probably involves House somehow._

He had no idea how House would react to Stacey being here and how much Chase knew about House and Stacey's history. Stacey didn't know that House was with Chase and that their relationship was serious. Cuddy was obviously thinking the same thing he was and both of them knew that if House saw Stacey...it was not going to be pretty.

"Where is Greg?" Stacey asked, bringing Wilson out of his thoughts.

"Uh...well Stacey, he-" Wilson said, not wanting to tell her where he was...mainly because he wasn't certain either.

"I think I know where he is." Stacey cut in, walking out of the office towards the conference room, Cuddy and Wilson following briskly behind her.

**HouseXChase**

"It could be Lupus." Foreman said and House rolled his eyes.

"I thought we established the fact a long time ago that it's never Lupus?" House shot back from his place next to the whiteboard.

"It's rarely Lupus, not never." Said Stacey from the doorway, drawing everyone's attention towards her.

House felt his heart stop. He couldn't believe his eyes. Stacey hadn't changed too much since the last time he saw her. God, how long ago was that? He couldn't remember. She walked further into the room, looking around. Wilson and Cuddy gave House concerning looks, unsure of House was going to react.

"Stacey, we can talk more in my office. House and his team have a patient to deal with." Cuddy said but Stacey didn't seem to be listening.

_Stacey?_

Cameron and Foreman were confused as to who this woman was, but then it dawned on them:

This woman was House's ex.

Stacey was the only one that House has ever truly loved and was there when he had his accident...the one who left him, leaving him hurt.

Angry.

Bitter.

Alone.

Chase was the only one in the room who had no idea who Stacey was. He's only heard Wilson use the name, rarely, but he assumed that he was talking about a patient. 'Stacey' was a popular girl's name in America after all.

He felt worry rise in him. The tension in the room was suffocating and the look on House's face told him that he was feeling lots of different emotions. Whoever this woman was had an impact on House in some way, Chase knew that, but he didn't know what. Chase was confused and he looked around at the others to see what their reaction was. They all had the same worried facial expression. Chase turned back towards House to find that he and Stacey were staring at each other and he could feel the tension in between them growing.

_Who the hell is this woman? Why does everyone know about her except me? What the hell is going on?_

"Hi, Greg." Stacey said quietly and Chase quirked an eyebrow. No one but him called House 'Greg' and he only used House's first name when they were alone.

"Leave." House said, venom dripping from his voice. Chase's heart started to beat faster. He's seen House angry before, but never...like this.

_This woman, Stacey, must have done something extremely terrible to Greg if just her presence is making him this upset._

"Greg, I just want to talk to you. Please listen to-"

"No, now leave." House butted in making Stacey look hurt, but she recovered quickly. Chase's confusion mounted. Why was House so intent on making this woman leave?

"Greg, I just wanted-"

"To say you're sorry?" House barked, taking a step towards her. "Is that it? To apologize to clear your conscious? You're not trying to apologize for me, you're trying to apologize for yourself." House seethed as he took another step closer.

Wilson moved forwards slightly, just in case House decided to try to hit Stacey. Foreman noticed this as well and stood and walked around the table quietly, to make sure that he was able to get to House before he hurt Stacey, if it came to that. Cameron and Cuddy looked at the scene before them with very worried looks, House could be very unpredictable and in a situation like this...someone could get hurt. As for Chase, he was now on his feet, looking between House and Stacey in confusion and slight anger because of his lack of knowledge.

"House," Wilson started, taking another step forward.

"Stay out of this Wilson." House said quietly, venom still dripping from his voice.

"House-"

"Shut up!" House shouted, glaring heatedly over at Wilson. "You're worthless in this Wilson, so stay out of it!" He turned his glare to the others in the room. "That goes for the rest of you too." His darkened blue eyes briefly locked with Chase's green-blue ones; House turned his deep glare back to Stacey.

Chase felt the world stand still. There was that word:

Worthless.

House had just called him worthless.

His father's voice started screaming in his head and he couldn't block out the sound. His father's voice always made itself known whenever he heard words like that and Chase couldn't make it stop. He hated triggers, but understood them all too well. The scene before Chase disappeared and he found himself back in Australia.

**xXxXx**

_He watched as a bystander at himself as a 6 year old being forced into a corner by his father, thinking that if he could make himself as small as possible, then the insults won't hurt as much. A large man stood behind his father as Chase looked up at them, tears streaming down his face._

_"You worthless piece of shit! Who the hell do you think you are? Trying to fight back against us? You mean nothing! The only people who know of your God-forsaken existence are your mother, myself, and Rider." His father growled, indicating the man behind him. _

_"Do you know who I am, Boy?" Chase nodded fervently, clenching his eyes shut as he suppressed a sob. He felt Rider kick him in his side, causing him to release a small yelp._

"_You're an embarrassment to the Chase name! Look at you! You have none of the qualities that all Chases have! Your mother is a fucking drunk and she's a better excuse of a human being than you are!" Chase released the sob he was holding back._

_Rider came forward and grabbed Chase by the hair, yanking him to his feet. His father grabbed his chin and forced the boy to look up at his glaring face. Chase held his breath, not wanting to release another sob as tears continued to roll down his face. His father brought his face close to his, their noses almost touching._

_"Someday you'll see that no one really cares about you. That's just the way of the world, Boy. Isn't that right, Rider?" The big man roughly yanked on Chase's hair, making him release another yelp._

"_Your father's right, Brat." Rider said in a deep tone. "You of all people should know that." _

_He shoved Chase away from him, causing Chase's head to collide with the concrete wall behind him. Chase let out a small scream when Rider shoved his foot against his chest, keeping him roughly pressed against the wall._

"_Boy," Chase's father continued. "Your mother is passed out drunk upstairs right now, and she's more useful than you are." Chase dared to lock eyes with his father. Rider chuckled._

"_She's easier to look at, Brat." Rider pressed his foot harder into Chase's chest. Chase's father knelt in front of him._

"_There are many things that you'll learn about this world, Boy." His father said quietly. "One of the things is that no one will really care about you. That's just the way it is. And you know what other big thing you'll learn?" He was quiet and glanced up at Rider, who jabbed his foot into Chase's chest again, causing the small blonde boy to release a shout of pain._

"_Look at your father, Brat." Chase did as he was told. His teary, scared eyes locked with his father's cold ones._

"_You know what other big thing you'll learn about this world?" Chase shook his head. His father smiled._

"_Everybody lies."_

**xXxXx**

The scene faded and he found himself back in the conference room; everything the way it was before the images from his childhood surfaced. He assumed that House had said some cruel things because now Stacey's face held traces of tears.

"Are you too stupid to realize that you're not welcomed here?" House spat, Stacey's face now showing traces of anger.

"I am not stupid!" Stacey spat back, "You're too much of an ass to realize that I'm trying to apologize because I felt bad for what I did to you! Don't you remember what we used to be?"

"Be quiet! You don't mean anything to me anymore! Now leave!" House yelled taking yet another step closer, also causing Foreman and Wilson to move closer.

_'Do you remember what we used to be?' That sounds like what a lover would say to someone._

Then it dawned on him:

House and Stacey used to be together.

Stacey did something to House that he won't forgive her for and there's always been tension between them. Bad break-up by the sounds of it.

_By the sounds of it, Stacey left Greg._

His thoughts started to race before landing on what House just said:

You don't mean anything to me anymore.

He felt tears well behind his eyes again. If Stacey meant so much to him at one point and now she means nothing to him, so…what does House think about him? They've had spats, but not a big fight.

What if they had a fight and broke up...would he not be...worth anything to House anymore?

_Is that right? If something caused Greg and I to break up, would I be worthless to him? Just like Stacey?_

He shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of that thought. After everything that's happened in the past two years, he meant something to House. He knew it...right? If he meant nothing to his father...then what is he worth to House? Was everything that House had told him a lie? Was House lying to him? Was he just stringing him along so that when he breaks up with him, he'll fall too far to get back up again?

"_Everybody lies."_

A common phrase spoken by House and his father. He's always ignored that similarity between them.

Chase narrowed his eyes dangerously at House, who was still in a shouting match with Stacey. He was right. House was lying to him. Everything that he's told him...everything that he's done...has been a lie. He meant nothing to his father, why should he be worth something to a medical genius like House?

It dawned on him that House was just like everyone else that he's met (besides Aura): he was a liar.

He only wanted to hurt him for his own sick pleasure. Well, that's not going to happen. He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his palms. He started to shake and he felt a few tears well in his eyes.

"If you had a brain in your head, then you would know to leave." House hissed.

"I don't even know why I bothered to come back because it was obviously a waste of my time! If you want to spend the rest of your life miserable, fine, see if I care. But don't you dare call me worthless because you're the one-"

"SHUT UP!" Chase screeched, making the room go deathly quiet.

All eyes were on Chase, who was shaking, tears lurking in his anger-filled eyes. House instantly felt concerned as to why Chase was behaving like this, why he was so enraged…why Chase was killing him with his eyes.

"Chase," House started, his voice a lot calmer.

"Don't." Chase hissed quietly, continuing to kill House with his eyes.

"Chase, what's going on with you?" House asked, confused. A sarcastic smirk graced Chase's face.

"She's unimportant to you, huh?" Chase said, nodding towards Stacey. House felt his heart stop, realizing where Chase was going.

"Chase—"

"Wilson's worthless to you, huh?" House opened his mouth to speak. "I'm worthless to you, huh?" House was taken aback by Chase's last comment.

Did he call Chase worthless? He couldn't have. He wouldn't do something like that. He rarely says things he doesn't mean. What the hell was Chase talking about? He couldn't have called the Aussie worthless. He knew what those kinds of words did to the blonde. He watched Stacey out of the corner of his eye and felt his blood run cold.

_Shit…Greg, you fucking dumbass. What the hell were you thinking?_

He did call Chase worthless…indirectly in a sense. He shook his head lightly, blocking the excuse for himself. He called everyone in the room worthless to the situation…including Chase.

"Robbie, listen to me." House said softly, trying to keep the pleading tone out of his voice.

"No! I've done enough listening! I've listened to everything that I've ever been told and it's all contradicting each other! I'm sick of it!"

"Robbie, I'm nothing like your father. I didn't say those things to hurt you. I would never—"

"Don't say it."

"I would never intentionally hurt you, Robbie." Stacey turned pale at the gentle tone of House's voice, never hearing that tone before.

"Liar! That's all you want to do! Lie to me! Everyone wants to lie to me! That's what everyone does, right?" Chase yelled as House took a step towards him. Everyone could tell that Chase was on the verge of hysteria.

"Robbie, just calm down okay?" House said soothingly, trying to get the blonde to calm down so that he doesn't go into hysteria.

"Don't you tell me to calm down! I-AM-CALM!" Chase's breath began to quicken as his eyes became glassier with tears of rage, his heart thundering in his chest.

"Chase," Cuddy said, but Chase ignored her.

"Don't you ever come near me! EVER! I HATE YOU!" Chase then turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. House felt his body go numb and the world fall away as his light left him in the dark.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**You know what I'm going to say.**

**Patience and reviews/PMs would be greatly appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	10. Life Without Light

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Every time I look at you, I think to myself 'sorry, that's the beer talking."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Life Without Light**

He couldn't breathe. His body slowly became paralyzed, forcing suffocation upon him.

Chase just stormed out.

Chase screamed that he hated him.

The look in Chase's eyes was burned into his memory. He has never seen the look of absolute rage and wrath in his eyes. Like everyone else, he's never seen Chase in that state before. He and Chase have had their fights, but never to the extent where Chase would transform into The Angel Light [1] in a blink of an eye.

To House, it seemed like Chase's personality switched all together. Never in his life did he even think that Chase could become the way he did before he stormed out of the conference room.

The calm, mild-mannered blonde became enraged and almost-hysteric in a matter of seconds.

_Shit Greg…this is the biggest fuck-up you've made in your entire life._

Claustrophobia began to settle in as he felt his world close in on him, determined to make him break. He didn't know what to do. Chase left him...just like Stacey had, but this hurt so much more. He felt himself start to crumble like an avalanche and he knew that there was no way he was going to recover from this.

His meaning and purpose for being alive just walked away and there was nothing he could do about it.

"House?" Cuddy asked, barely above a whisper. House didn't acknowledge her in the slightest.

Wilson took a step closer to House, being careful to not startle him. House turned his eyes on him and Wilson felt his heart break at what he saw:

Misery.

Hurt.

Loss.

Wilson has never seen House drop his guard this much.

"House...he'll come back. He just needs time to cool off." Wilson said, not only trying to reassure House, but also to reassure himself and everyone else. House remained quiet and carefully limped from the room, feeling everyone's eyes follow him.

"That blonde really means a lot to Greg, doesn't he?" Stacey asked tentatively after a few moments of silence.

"You have no idea." Wilson said quietly, looking at her. "If House doesn't have Chase, then he doesn't have anything." His eyes softened sadly.

"But something doesn't make sense." Stacey said, confused.

"What?" Cuddy asked, still in shock about what just happened.

"Greg was hurt when we broke up, but I've never seen him that hurt before. I thought Greg and I had something special, but when we parted ways...he didn't take it as hard as he had just now only because the blonde walked away."

"House loves Chase more than he ever loved you." Wilson snapped, angry that Stacey could be so selfish. Cuddy, Cameron, and Foreman looked at Wilson, surprised; they've never heard Wilson talk that way before. Stacey then grew angry again.

"If Greg wants to chase after Barbie, fine. But the blonde brat will never be able to do what I have for Greg. I was there when the accident happened."

"What? Make him crippled and force him to rely on a cane for the rest of his life? Make him bitter and angry just to push people away so that they can't hurt him? Yeah, you're right, Chase can't do that. But Chase can do many things that you never could and never will. Chase broke through to House and helped him show the person that he buried years ago. Chase brought Gregory House back to life." Wilson said, glaring at Stacey intently, making her squirm before his eyes.

"I see." She hesitated and glanced around the room. "Obviously, it was a waste of time coming here." She straightened her shirt and walked out the room, leaving a broken mess behind.

**HouseXChase**

He sat in a patio chair on the balcony, the gentle wind blowing blonde locks of hair into Chase's eyes. With a small bottle of apple juice in one hand, a bowl of ice cream on his lap, and a spoon twirling aimlessly in his other hand, Chase wasn't planning on leaving his place on the balcony anytime soon. Dressed in a baggy crimson sweater and loose black gym pants, he found his current perch to be very comfortable and continued to eat his ice cream. His mind eventually stopped spinning a couple hours ago, finally finished processing all the information he had received earlier today.

He took a swig from the bottle of apple juice and returned his gaze back to the starry night sky. He loved nights like this, calm and peaceful. He thought how he and House would always sit on the balcony on these kinds of nights, simply admiring the beauty of the sky and the comfort of each other's presence. He felt his heart sink at the thought of House.

His House.

A wave of guilt washed over him as he thought of how he acted and what he said towards House. House didn't deserve to be treated that way...he didn't mean to provoke him at all...it wasn't his fault that he remembered his father at every mention of something related to the man.

_Fucking triggers make me feel too sensitive. Damnit._

"I'm sorry." He whispered to himself as he brushed a sleeve across his face. He was right about one thing:

He wasn't worthy enough to be with a genius like House.

Look at how he treated him earlier today. How will House ever forgive him? Why would House ever want to be with him anymore if he treated the older doctor like he did today?

Why would House forgive him if he wasn't able to forgive himself?

**HouseXChase**

His legs dangled over the ledge of the roof as he stared up at the starry night sky. He thought of how he and Chase would always sit on their balcony and admired the beauty of the sky and the comfort of each other's presence. His mind continued to wander and landed back when he had first kissed Chase in the park near Chase's apartment complex. He remembered the sparks that seemed to dance in his green-blue eyes.

House felt Wilson sit next to him and swing his legs over the ledge of the roof, looking up at the sky as well. House felt uncomfortable at first because he hated feeling vulnerable and exposed, but he was surprised that he didn't truly care that much at the moment. He noticed that about himself when he started dated Chase:

The blonde made him soften up.

"I forced him away, James." House said quietly, still gazing at the sky. Wilson was surprised by the use of his first name, but didn't say anything about it.

"You didn't force him away, Greg. You didn't lose him. Chase just snapped and took it out on you. He just needs time to cool off."

"But I was the one who made him snap." House countered, glancing over at Wilson.

"Doesn't mean you forced him away and lost him. He was going to snap a little bit eventually, we all knew that." Wilson hesitated. "Cuddy, Cameron, Foreman, and I don't have to know specific details about Chase's life to know that he was going to snap at one point. It happens to everyone."

"None of this would've happened if shehadn't shown up." House hissed, adding emphasis on 'she'. Wilson nodded in agreement.

"I'll agree with you on that one. But every couple goes through this, Greg. They fight; it's normal. Plus if you include the dark things that have happened in Chase's life," Wilson paused briefly. "If you include the eating disorder and apparent abuse that he's experienced, I'm honestly surprised that Chase doesn't snap more often." Silence fell between them, each man lost in his own thoughts.

"Just give Chase space." Wilson said after a while, "Stay at my place for a while until you and Chase work things out." House noticed that Wilson wasn't asking him to stay with him, he was telling him. A smile tugged at his lips slightly.

"Thanks." He said, continuing to look at the stars which looked familiar to a certain Aussie's eyes.

**HouseXChase**

**[1]: "Angel Light" is another name for Satan (or the Devil).**

**I know this chapter was relatively short and I apologize for that, but I felt that this chapter was necessary.**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	11. Wombat Hunting

**Dearest Readers,**

"**I'm gonna go buy some green bananas because by the time I get home, they'll be ripe."**

***Aura reappears in this chapter, but I know I haven't made it clear about what she's been up to. Just work with me.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Wombat Hunting**

13 days.

That's how long it's been since Chase last spoken to him or even looked him in the eye.

The tension in the conference room was suffocating. Cameron and Foreman felt like gravity was pushing harder on them as they hoped and prayed that House and Chase would be able to work things out. Luckily, House and Chase were able to not allow their relationship problems interfere with their work. The team was still able to solve cases that they were given, despite the suffocating tension between Chase and House.

The team, as well as Cuddy and Wilson, noticed that House spoke to Chase much more carefully than usual. Whenever he wanted Chase to do something for the case, he made it appear like the blonde had a choice; but Chase did his assignment without comment.

House was more worried about the fact that Chase had reverted back to his old ways of being secretive and somewhat standoff-ish. He was also worried about Chase staying by himself in their apartment, worried that the blonde had turned back to old habits of starvation and self-injury.

But what House didn't realize was that Wilson was terrified about him. Primarily because Wilson thought that House was going to do something drastic...and permanent...soon.

**HouseXChase**

"How are you doing? Hanging in there?" Aura asked from across the table as House pushed his drink around aimlessly. They agreed to meet at the same bar they all went out together to when Aura first came to America.

"Not really." House admitted quietly, not meeting her eye. Aura felt sympathy swell within her. She knew that House loved Chase beyond words and that their current situation was killing him, but didn't know what to do.

"Have you..." House started, not wanting to finish his question. She knew what he was going to ask.

"I'm sure you've picked up on this by now, but it's usually best to not try talking to Robbie when he's like this." She paused, thinking about her next words carefully. "Whenever he's like this, he becomes very unpredictable. If you try to talk to him about what's making him like he is now, he'll either verbally or physically lash out...sometimes both." She said, looking down at her drink. House looked up at her to see her shoulders sag.

"Has Chase...hit you?" He asked tentatively. Aura tilted her head from side-to-side.

"The only 'major' incident of him hitting me was when his mom died." Aura said slowly, looking back up at him. "I still remember it vividly...it was scary. God, he was so angry. Even though I understood the reasoning behind it all, I was still upset that he attacked me like that; but that incident was the only real conflict we've had."

"Yea, it's understandable that Chase was upset about his mother, but that's not a good reason for him to hit you." Aura made a sound of agreement.

"True, but there are times when Robbie gets very volatile; he acts first and thinks later."

"But he only gets volatile in very emotional and difficult situations."

"Exactly, which is what happened in the situation of yours and his relationship, I'm sure." Brief silence fell between and Aura eyed House carefully.

"He regrets it in the end." House looked up at her.

"What?"

"When Robbie lashes out like he did to you and me, he ultimately regrets it in the end." She hesitated. "When I calmed down a bit after he hit me, which was about 2 weeks, I went to go see him and the first thing he said was that he was sorry; but," She eyed House deeply. "He won't start the conversation."

"That's usually how it works." House muttered, remembering how long it took to get used to the fact that it was him who usually had to start the conversations about something that really needed to be discussed.

"That's the case here." Aura said softly, refusing to break eye contact. "Robbie won't start the conversation in this situation, even though he was the one who lashed out—"

"Because he was volatile." Aura nodded. "I have to go see him if this is to be discussed and sorted out." Aura nodded again.

"Exactly, but you also have to be careful to not push him too much." House made a sound of agreement.

Silence fell between them as they each got lost in their own thoughts. House's mind drifted to the blonde and tried to think of ways to start the conversation that they desperately needed to have. After all this time, he couldn't allow their relationship to end this way. He couldn't allow something like this to end what they have. He knew how Chase worked and had adjusted to the blonde's habits, sometimes confusing behavior, and his occasional outbursts. That also worked visa versa: Chase had learned how he worked and had adjusted to him and his habits, etc.

He couldn't lose the blonde. He just couldn't. The blonde meant too much to him and there would be no way that he could continue on without Chase.A new sense of determination swept through him and he stood from the booth, looking down at Aura.

"I'm going to get him back." Aura's green eyes brightened as a smile spread across her face.

"You go get him, Mister!" House smirked as he walked out the door and drove towards the apartment that he and Chase shared.

It was time to go wombat hunting.

**HouseXChase**

He lay curled up in a corner of the couch, pulling his baggy black sweater tightly around him. He wiped tears from his face, his fingertips brushing against his cheekbones. He leaned against the back of the couch, listening to the silence of the apartment. Chase adjusted his position on the couch, tucking his legs closer to his chest. He felt hunger pains grip his body, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in about 13 days. Living off of water wasn't exactly the most filling thing to consume, but he wouldn't gain weight from it.

He sighed deeply and nestled against the couch, his eyes staring unfocusedly at the piano. It was quiet. So quiet, that Chase would've been able to hear a pin drop. He was dozing off to sleep, his mind filled with thoughts of a certain older doctor. His eyelids felt heavy and they began to droop slowly.

BANG! BANG!

Chase thought he had a heart attack when a loud banging came from the front door. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest and he breathed quickly. He focused on his breathing to calm himself down. There was another episode of loud banging. Chase tilted his head to the side and wondered who would come by the apartment at this hour. He stood and walked, barefoot, to the door. He brushed his sweater sleeve across his face to make sure that no evidence of tears was on his face. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

His heart stopped.

It was House

He stared at the older man as he stared back, hand in his pocket. Chase felt numb; he couldn't move or speak. Those eyes. He missed them terribly. He didn't look so good, Chase observed. Noting the look of tiredness and stress on his features. Chase stood awkwardly at the door, holding on to it and swinging it lightly, making it squeak slightly.

"We never did get stuff to make the door stop squeaking." Chase said as he looked at the door hinges. House felt a smile tug at his lips as he looked at Chase. He did look messy, he wasn't going to lie to himself about that. Chase moved away from the door to walk further into the apartment. He was a little ways from the door when he looked over his shoulder at House.

"You coming?" He asked and House felt like he was becoming high. He stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	12. Wombat Retrieval

**Dearest Readers,**

**~ "Give an example of a glamorous profession."  
- "Hitman!"  
~ "That's right, Kids. You wanna grow up to be a hitman."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Wombat Retrieval**

His mind was spinning. He had no idea what to say or do or how to feel. When he answered the door, he was expecting to see Aura or even Wilson...but not House. He had his back turned towards House, fiddling with his fingers as his right foot turned inward on its platform. Chase stared down at the carpet, not really seeing anything.

What was he suppose to say?

House took a few steps into the apartment, keeping his eyes on Chase. He knew that Chase was nervous and frightened just by his body language. He took a deep breath to steady himself and walked towards Chase carefully.

"Chase..." House began, not knowing what to say. He felt slightly ashamed when he heard his own voice sound pathetic.

"Who was she?" Chase asked quietly, moving to stand in front of their bookcase. The older man sighed and looked at the floor for a few seconds, knowing that Chase was talking about Stacey.

"She's not important." House said, instantly regretting it. He saw Chase become rigid, indicating that he was getting angry. He tried to see Chase's face, but found that he couldn't look passed the blonde curtain surrounding Chase's face.

"Not important, huh?" Chase asked in a deadly whisper.

House felt a wave of chills fill his body at the tone of the young man's voice. Chase turned to look at House and saw that Chase's green-blue were glassy. But, House noticed that the blonde was not choking up because he was sad:

Chase was choking up because he was so angry.

"I take that back. Stacey is important to me, but-"

"But you just said she wasn't." Chase snapped, crossing his arms.

"Stacey is important to me, just not..." He couldn't find the words.

"Just not as important as she used to be?" Chase finished.

"I guess you could say that." Chase took a step forward, kind of swaggering as he did so.

"What is this sick hold that she has on you?" House faltered.

_Sick hold?_

"What...she doesn't have any kind of hold on me." Chase scoffed.

"Say whatever you want, after all...you do have the right to be wrong." He made to turn away, but House grabbed his elbow and pulled the blonde towards him, catching Chase off guard.

"What is this 'hold' that you're talking about?" House asked, his voice almost coming out as a hiss, failing to hold back his anger.

"She did something to you. Something that you can't let go of. I assume that it happened a long time ago, seeing that it seemed that you haven't seen her in some time." Now it was House's turn to become angry. He glared deeply at Chase, tightening his grip on Chase's arm, making the blonde wince.

"I can't let go?" He hissed. "I can't let go? You don't have the right to talk about not being able to let something go!" House pushed Chase away from him, causing Chase to stumble and almost fall to the floor. The Aussie glared back at the man who just shoved him away, more anger in his eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Chase spat, rubbing his elbow unconsciously. House let out a small sarcastic laugh.

"What am I talking about?" House took a step forward. "You're the one who caused all this to happen in the first place!"

"What-"

"If you would just let go of what your father said and did, we wouldn't be in this mess right now! If you would just let go of the abuse that was forced upon you, we wouldn't be like this! If you weren't so damn sensitive about any and everything that reminds you of your past, we wouldn't be like this!" House shouted, towering over Chase, who backed away slightly.

Chase sniffed and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his sweater, looking away from House. He was right...it was all his fault. It's always his fault whenever something bad happened, just what his father had taught him. A sob escaped his lips before he could catch it and Chase walked around the coffee table so that he wouldn't have to go pass House to reach the piano.

He felt House's eyes follow him as he pulled the bench away from the piano and sat, hovering his delicate fingers over the keys. Soft, slow, soothing music filled the apartment as Chase began to play, closing his eyes and swaying slightly. He tilted his head slightly, his hair hardly falling into his face.

House knew that playing piano had become one of Chase's coping mechanisms, so he decided to stay quiet for a few moments even though he was still angry at the blonde. He remembered that Chase said that he began playing piano since he was quite young, so he began to wonder if playing piano had always been a coping mechanism.

While he knew what it was like to be abused, he admittedly didn't know what it was like to be abused by two different people. There was only so much he could relate with Chase before he didn't understand what it was like to be in Chase's situation. Plus he was sure that Chase had been abused for a longer period of time than he was.

He thought back to how Chase was before they started dating, which had made him certain that the blonde never had anyone around besides his abusers. Although he had Aura, he kept her at a safe distance so that she never found out about the abuse until they were in their late-teens. He felt his eyes soften and his anger slowly die down as it started making sense.

_Chase hasn't really let go of his abuse because he never had someone there to help him through it; so he's still sensitive about it and has very sensitive triggers because no one has really helped him through the letting go process. Good God, Greg, since when were you a psychologist?_

House stared at the blonde who had stopped playing the piano. He quietly limped over to Chase who just stood from the piano and was making his way to their patio. Tentatively, House grabbed Chase's arm. Chase cocked his head back at him, but not making eye contact.

"Look at me." House said, tugging lightly on Chase's arm. The blonde stepped back into the apartment and looked evenly up at House.

In that moment, House knew that a simple apology wasn't going to work. So he found himself doing something that not only has he never done before, but something that he never planned to either. He let go of his cane, allowing it to clatter to the floor. Chase looked down at it, bending to pick it up, but House stopped him. Chase looked up at House, confusion on his face. Then, gingerly, House knelt down on both of his knees, placing more of his weight on his good leg. He wrapped his arms around Chase and pulled the blonde as close to him as humanly possible, laying the side of his face against Chase's stomach.

Chase was caught off guard to say the least. He looked down at House, on his knees, holding him as close as he could. He got the message:

I'm sorry.

A gentle smile graced his lips and he lightly stroked the top of House's head, placing his other hand on the other side of House's face. They stayed like that for a while, feeling the negative emotions they had towards each other disappear. House's leg was cramping and felt like it was on fire, but he didn't move; he never wanted to let the young man go again.

"Greg?" Chase asked quietly.

"Yeah?" House responded, not moving.

"It's Friday." House's brow burrowed in confusion at what Chase meant.

"You already forgot?" Chase said, laughing slightly.

"What did I forget?" House asked, looking up at him, but keeping his arms in place around the blonde's waist. Chase jokingly glared at him.

"Thai or pizza?" House smiled as he remembered that Friday nights were take-out nights.

"Hmm...that's a difficult decision." Chase rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, choosing what kind of take-out you want is definitely a life-changing decision." House glared playfully up at Chase, who smiled.

"I'm thinking Thai."

"Good 'cause that's what I was going to get anyway."

"Then why did you ask?" Chase smirked.

"Just wanted to make you feel like you had a choice." Chase laughed as House began to stand up, Chase helping him. House slipped his hand into the blonde's and pulled him towards the kitchen to where they kept the take-out menus. His leg was extremely painful, but it's worth feeling since he got his wombat back.

House analyzed the blonde as he leaned on the counter, looking through the Thai menus. His hair fell into his eyes, which he would brush away from time-to-time, each time he stared at his bare ring finger. He smiled lightly as Chase let out a long, loud yawn as he picked up his cell phone, dialing their favorite Thai restaurant. He looked up at House.

"How about we have Aura over?"

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**I do hope that you're still enjoying this story.**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	13. Popped Question

**Dearest Readers,**

"**I've got half a mind to kill you…and the other half agrees."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Popped Question**

"So you guys are okay now?" Wilson asked as he stared at House from across the lunch table. The man nodded as he stole another French fry from Wilson's plate.

"Yes, Sir." House said as Wilson rolled his eyes at the mocked politeness. House's pager went off and he recognized Chase's number flashing back at him. He stood, grabbing his cane. "Duty calls." He said, walking away towards the conference room.

**HouseXChase**

House smiled contently as he walked into his office to see Chase sitting on his desk with his computer bag on the floor. The blonde looked up with a light smile on his face as he heard House approach him.

"Ready?"

"I've been ready since this morning." Chase rolled his eyes as House slipped his hand into his and pulled him out of the office and towards the elevator. Once they were inside the elevator, Chase leaned his head against House's shoulder, closing his eyes momentarily.

"Tired?"

"A little." Chase said as they walked out the elevator and towards their car in the parking garage.

Chase placed his bag in the back seat and closed the door. He was about to open the driver's side door, but House stopped him by putting his hands on his hips and pulling the blonde towards him. Chase smiled up at him, eyes sparkling in the garage light. House laid a kiss on Chase's lips and pulled away slowly, looking at the blonde closely. He looked much healthier than he used to. Chase poked his nose affectionately and House let him go and walked around to his side of the car and climbed in.

"You have got to take that down." House said in a deflated tone as he stared at the air freshener swinging in the mirror.

"For the last time, no. I like it. It makes the car smell nice." He smiled as he heard House sigh in defeat.

_Point for Chase...again._

**HouseXChase**

Friday nights were their favorite time of the week. Even for doctors, if they were able to get away from the hospital on a Friday night, they basically ran for freedom.

They lay on a lounge chair on their balcony, Thai take-out containers were on the table next to them. They stared up at the starry night sky, a light breeze brushed by occasionally. The stars twinkled down at them, each one a mystery and a marvel. House tightened his arms around Chase's waist as he leaned against him. He buried his face into Chase's soft blonde hair, inhaling the smell of coconut and some kind of fruit.

He pulled away and looked fondly at the blonde against him, who was still looking at the sky with a light smile on his face. He looked so peaceful and calm, like all the bad things in the world were nowhere near him and could never touch him. His eyes drifted down the blonde's body, landing on his folded hands. He felt his heart stop momentarily.

_Now?_

Slowly and carefully, so as to not attract the blonde's attention to his movements, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box that he's carried around with him for the past few months. He felt his heartbeat quicken, his nerves starting to kick in. He glanced quickly at the blonde, glad to see that he was oblivious to House's growing nerves. Carefully, House opened the box, ring glinting back at him. It looked even more beautiful in the star-light. He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Robbie." He whispered into the blonde's ear, grabbing his attention.

"Yeah?" Chase asked. House took another deep breath and brought the hand that held the ring and placed it on Chase's chest. Chase's eyes went wide.

"Robbie," House whispered into his ear again. "Marry me...promise...promise you'll stay with me."

Chase felt the world stand still as he stared at the wedding ring House had placed in front of him. The diamond glinted in the night-light and all Chase could do was stare. He felt his heart pound and he was sure he could feel House heart race against his back. Chase turned around and looked at House, a smile on his face.

"Yes. Of course." Chase whispered, breathlessly; wrapping his arms around House's neck.

House smiled widely and wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde. He felt Chase smile against his neck as he pulled away, placing his slim hands on his chest. He sat on House's lap now, being careful of his bad leg.

"Give me that." House said and Chase held his left hand out, House taking the ring out of its box in the process.

House gently took Chase's ring finger and slid the ring on, extremely glad that it fit perfectly. Chase looked at it for a moment and then back at House, smiling widely. He leaned in a placed a kiss on House's lips and House placed the ring box next to the Thai take-out containers. He looked at Chase's finger, a new feeling of certainty and possession swelling within him.

"Thank you." Chase whispered into his neck and House ran his fingers through his hair.

"No, thank you." He muttered and Chase looked up at him, still smiling.

"Greg," he whispered, "thank you for not giving up on me." House was a bit surprised by this remark and looked down at him.

"I would never give up on you, Robbie." He said, making Chase look back up at him. "It's I who should be thanking you." Chase tilted his head in confusion, making House smile. "You've always believed that I could change and I have." Chase placed another kiss on his lips, this one lingering a little longer than the last one. "And I like to think that I'm not much of an ass anymore." Chase chuckled.

"And you've always believed that I could change...and I have too." Chase said, smiling slightly. House took Chase's left hand and indicated the ring.

"I had something engraved on the inside." He said, Chase gently taking it off and looking at the inside of the band.

_You are my sunshine in the dark_

He smiled, very touched by the words, slipping the ring back on his finger.

"Thank you." He said again, laying his head against House's chest. House wrapped his arms possessively around Chase, never wanting to let him go. He directed his eyes towards the ring on Chase's finger, a smile spreading across his face.

_Finally._

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**I did delete the chapter before this one b/c it didn't have anything to do with the story.**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	14. Meeting the Future

**Dearest Readers,**

**~ "Nobody likes you."  
- "I like me."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Meeting the Future**

Cameron sighed heavily once again, making Foreman even more irritated. House was always late on Monday mornings, but this was ridiculous! Foreman tried to focus on the journal he was reading, but Cameron's constant sighing prevented him from doing so.

"Is something bothering you, Cameron?" He asked sarcastically, just as House walked into the room, Chase grumpily following behind him.

"What's wrong, Chase?" Cameron asked as he flopped into his chair.

"Ask The Great Destroyer over there." He said grumpily, pointing his head towards House who was trying to look innocent.

"What did you do?" She asked sharply, knowing that House had to do something outrageous to get Chase to be grumpy.

"I merely scratched 'Move it, Bucko' on someone's car that was parked in our spot." He said casually, shrugging his shoulders.

"House! That's not right." Cameron said, just as Cuddy walked in.

"What did he do this time?" She asked, looking at Cameron.

"He scratched 'Move it, Bucko' on someone's car just because they were in his and Chase's parking spot." Cameron said exasperatedly as Cuddy turned angrily at House. Chase decided that he didn't want to be stuck right between an angry Cuddy and overly feisty House, so he got up and went to make the coffee

"You're paying for the damage." Cuddy said shortly causing House to scoff.

"Yeah right."

"I mean it, House."

"So do I." He countered, looking innocently at her. Wilson walked into the conference room, his eyes first landing on House and then turned towards Cuddy.

"What's wrong?" Cuddy asked as Wilson glanced behind him.

"Dr. Forest is fuming. Someone scratched 'Move it, Bucko' in the side of his car."

"That was me!" House cried childishly as he raised his hand.

"Of course."

"He shouldn't have been in our spot."

"That doesn't mean you can vandalize his car!"

"In House's defense, his car has a lot of scratches on it...a few more wouldn't hurt." Chase said, leaning against the counter with his coffee mug in his hands.

Something caught Wilson's eye and he turned to look at it, his heart stopping as he stared at the wedding ring on Chase's slim ring finger. He felt a smile creep to his lips as he looked at House, making eye contact. House raised an eyebrow at him. Wilson darted his eyes towards Chase, silently telling him that he saw the ring. The corners of House's lips curled up slightly and briefly, then he turned back to Cuddy.

"You must be very proud of yourself." She huffed, hands on her hips.

"You bet I am." He replied, smiling.

"You need to grow up."

"House? Grow up? Impossible." Chase said, smiling as he took a sip from his mug. Cuddy looked quizzically at the blonde. "What?" Chase asked, feeling confused as to why Cuddy was looking at him like that.

"What's that?" She nodded at his hands.

"Oh this?" He held his mug on display. "It's a wonderful creation. It's called a coffee mug and-"

"Not that!" She cut in exasperatedly, "That!" She pointed at his left hand. Chase smiled, twirling the ring on his finger.

"I win." He said turning towards House who was already pulling money out of his wallet.

"What?" Cuddy asked, confused.

"We made a bet on how long it would take someone to notice. I said sometime this week and House said next week." Chase said, smiling widely as he slipped the money in his pocket.

"Notice what?"

"The nice piece of bling on his finger." House said, sighing dramatically.

"Bling?" She asked and her eyes went wide when she saw the wedding ring on his finger. She smiled widely. "That's wonderful! I guess I can procrastinate on making House pay for the damage he caused to Dr. Forest's car." House huffed.

"What?" Foreman and Cameron asked at the same time, causing Chase to turn towards them.

"Cuddy asked what was on my hand. It's this." He showed her the wedding ring and she smiled widely.

"That's great!" Cameron said excitedly.

"What did Aura say?" Foreman asked with a light smile, surprised that a surprised expression covered Chase's face.

"Crap. I haven't even told her."

"You better hurry up and tell her otherwise she's going to freak out." House said as Chase pulled out his cell phone and sat down. He dialed her number and smiled as he put her on speaker-phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Aura."

"Robbie! How you doing? Are you saving lives today?"

"I don't know, maybe. Are you sitting down?" He said, making his voice sound somber. They laughed quietly, knowing that he wanted to make Aura worried before he told her about getting married.

"Why what's wrong?" She asked quickly as he heard her sit down. He sighed deeply.

"Aura...I don't know how to tell you this."

"Robbie, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" Chase smiled, still keeping his voice somber. He sighed deeply again.

"Aura...I...I'm engaged."

"Robert Rowan Chase!" She shouted from the other end of the line, making them wince and laugh. "You had me worried sick! Don't you ever do that again! You hear me? But I'm super duper excited! Is Greg there?"

"I'm here." He said, still smiling.

"Master, you better treat him right otherwise I'm going to kick your ass."

"Aura!"

"I'll take those words close to heart, Aura." House said as Aura laughed.

"Robbie, I'm going to go tell Ma. She'll be so happy!"

"Thanks for doing that, Aura." Chase said, smiling. "Tell her to give me her contact information so I can actually talk to her."

"Will do! I'm happy for you guys! I'll call you later, Robbie."

"Alright, bye." He ended the call and slipped his phone back in his pocket, shaking his head.

"Have you guys made any plans yet?" Cuddy asked, still smiling from the phone call.

"Nope." House said, bluntly as Chase nodded in agreement.

Wilson looked at the ring and smiled as he remembered the first time he saw it in the bar with House so many months ago. House had been nervous then and he probably was when he proposed. But he knew that Chase wouldn't say no. House had waited so long for the right time to pop the question and that time came.

He looked at his friend and saw that he seemed even brighter than before proposing. This was the best thing to ever happen to House and both of them knew it.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs are appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	15. The Weekend Plans

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Remember our motto: My name is Bill and I like tight panties [sic]."**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Weekend Plans**

"Go away." House mumbled, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Nope. Get up Lazy-Bones." Chase said, yanking the blanket away.

"What time is it?"

"10:00, why?"

"It's Saturday."

"So?" House sighed deeply.

"Saturdays are my lazy days."

"Well not today!" Chase said happily, hoping onto the bed, making House bounce.

"Go away, Blondie." House said, pulling the blanket back over his head. Chase smiled as an idea formed in his head. He stood on the bed and began to jump up and down.

"Stop that." House said, annoyed.

"Nope! Not until you get up and ready for the day!" Chase said, continuing to jump. House sighed deeply again, pulling himself out of bed.

"Fine...you win."

"I knew you'll see it my way." Chase said, jumping one last time on the bed and then hoping off, shuffling out of their bedroom. House slumped back onto the mattress.

_If this is how he's going to be when we get married, I can only rely on my low sense of self-control to not kill him._

**HouseXChase**

He flopped down on the couch next to Chase, who was flipping through their address book. Chase picked up his steaming cup of coffee and took a sip as he landed on a particular page. House noticed the blonde's hesitation and uneasiness.

"What is it?" House asked, concerned about his change in behavior. Chase looked up at him uncertainly.

"What...what about...your parents?" He asked nervously, not sure how House would react.

House sat back in the couch, pondering the question. Should they invite his parents to their wedding? He hasn't spoken to them in quite some time...a few years. He wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. He never even told them that he was gay, so he didn't know how they would react if they found out that he was marrying Chase.

His thoughts and emotions started to become conflicted with each other.

He knew that he should invite them because they're his parents and every parent wants to see their child get married. But at the same time, he didn't know how they would react if they realized that he was marrying a man.

An idea dawned on him.

What if he took Chase to meet them before deciding if he wants to invite them or not? That seemed like a reasonable idea...and the only one he had. He looked down into his coffee cup.

"You haven't met them yet...do you want to?" Chase hesitated for a moment.

"I do, but if you don't feel comfortable with that I understand, but I would like to meet them." So that answered House's question.

"Alright...then that's what we'll do."

"You're sure?" House hesitated for a moment.

"Yeah." He said, picking up the phone and walking to the balcony.

**HouseXChase**

"Hello?" His heart thundered in his chest when he heard the familiar voice of his mother.

"H-hey Mom." He said, not knowing what else to say. There was a pause.

"Greg?" She said tentatively, not believing it was him.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry...that I haven't called...in quite a while."

"Oh...that's alright, Dear. I should apologize too. I could've called you, but I didn't. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Mom; but there is a reason why I called randomly."

"What would that be?" She asked, House not able to see her smile.

"There's...there's someone I want you to meet." His mother paused.

"Oh? Well, you're father and I don't have any plans next weekend. How about you two swing by then?"

"That sounds good. So I'll, uh...see you...then." He said, not sure how he was suppose to act towards his mother that he hasn't talked to in years.

"I can't wait to see you, Greg. You two have a safe trip up here."

"We will, Mom."

**HouseXChase**

Chase looked up when House walked back into the living room, placing the phone on the coffee table and sitting next to him. Chase raised an eyebrow at him, asking him silently what happened.

"We're heading up there next weekend." House said, tapping his cane against the floor. The blonde smiled.

"I'm glad. Road trip!" House laughed at Chase's childish response, never able to predict what the blonde was going to say next.

"Don't get too excited, they're only about 2 hours away."

"It doesn't matter, Silly! Being in a car, plus, driving on the road, equals, road trip." Chase said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How can I put up with you?" House asked jokingly.

"Because you love me." House looked thoughtful and shook his head.

"No, that can't be it." Chase pouted and poked him in the arm with a fake hurt expression on his face.

"You ass." House chuckled and pulled the blonde onto his lap, holding him tightly.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**This chapter was kind of like a "filler chapter," but it was necessary. ^_^**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	16. This Isnt Like a Facebook Friend Request

**Dearest Readers,**

**~ "I belonged in a band called 'The Happy Funk Band'…until an unfortunate typo caused us to be expelled from school."**

***NOTE*  
House's father is EXTREMELY OOC.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**This Isn't Like A Facebook Friend Request**

To say that he was nervous would be an understatement.

He was terrified.

House fiddled with his fingers as Chase followed the GPS towards their destination. Chase knew that House was nervous, he had every right to be, but he didn't understand why he was as nervous as he was. He chose to remain quiet, not wanting to make the atmosphere in the car uncomfortable.

"Is this is?" Chase asked, as he pulled against the street in front of House's parent's home.

House nodded silently, getting out of the car. He leaned up against the car, trying to organize his thoughts. Chase walked around to him and stood in front of him, shoving his hands in his coat pockets.

"Greg, it'll be alright. If they don't like me, that's fine."

"It's not that." House said, locking eyes with Chase.

"Oh? What's wrong then?" House paused, not sure how to word what he wanted to say.

"I...never told them...that I was gay." Chase instantly understood House's behavior.

"If they truly love you and want to see you happy...then shouldn't be an issue." Chase said, squinting as a cold breath a wind passed by them.

"I'll try to see it that way." House said, smiling as he led Chase by the elbow towards his parent's house.

He took a breath to steady himself and knocked on the door. Chase's attention was grabbed by a small pot on the window sill. He pulled away from House and went to see what was inside of it and smiled widely:

Yellow air freshener crystals.

He didn't hear the door open as he picked up the small pot and smelled its contents, loving the smell of coconut.

"Robbie, quit sniffing crack and come here." House said, his voice having its usual sarcastic wit to it.

Chase turned towards him, pot in hand, and was greeted by the sight of House and his mother standing by the door. House's mother was a very attractive woman. Her hair was in a messy bun on the back of her head, brown and silver locks coming out of its holder. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and her face had traces of wrinkles. He was surprised to find her to be a stout woman, but the look suited her perfectly. He couldn't tell what the woman thought of him yet, but he was going to do his best to make a good impression. Chase smiled abashedly as he put the air freshener pot back on the window sill.

"I see that you found the air fresheners." House's mother said, smiling.

"Coconut Passion is a lovely scent." Chase said, walking over to them with his hands in his pockets.

"You know your air fresheners, don't you?" She laughed, beckoning them to come inside.

"Oh yes. Greg doesn't like them though." He said, smiling at House as they walked into the kitchen.

"Why not, Greg? You grew up around them." She said, laughing.

"I like the smell of air...not artificially fragrant air." House said, Chase lightly slapping his arm.

"What are you favorite scents?" She asked, opening the fridge door and peering inside.

"Coconut Passion, Country Apple, and Moonlight Path...maybe Fresh Linen."

"Ah, Country Apple...it always makes me want to eat the air."

"It does? I'm not the only one then, Greg." Chase said, playfully glaring at House, who rolled his eyes.

"You're obsessed with air fresheners and I want nothing to do with it." House mumbled.

"Greg, I don't have them everywhere." His mother said, placing milk on the counter.

"He does." House said, indicating Chase. She laughed again and looked over at Chase.

"I personally think it's a good idea to have a Fresh Linen air freshener in the laundry room." He said defensively, laughing slightly.

"You know, that's a very good idea. I've never thought of doing that." House's mother said, pouring some milk into a pot on the stove.

"But it's not a good idea to have one in the car." House muttered, making his mother and fiancée laugh.

"Greg, can you be a dear and-"

"Can't." House said instantly, knowing that she was going to ask him to do something. Chase nudged him.

"Do what your mother tells you to." He said, using the tone of voice that always makes House do what he wanted. House sighed in defeat.

"What would you want me to do?" He said, feeling Chase smile next to him. His mother was surprised by her son's instant obedience to her request after Chase just told him to do so.

"Greg, can you go to your room and-"

"But I don't want to go to bed yet!" Greg cried in a child-like voice. His mother rolled her eyes and smiled.

"I wasn't sending you to bed, _Dear._" She stressed the last word. "I was going to ask if you could get the yellow bag that's to the right of your bedroom's doorframe." House raised an eyebrow at her, surprised that her request was so simple. He sighed dramatically and walked to his destination, Chase chuckling as he left.

"I'd hate to see him as a teenager." He said, smiling as he turned back to House's mother. She laughed quietly.

"Oh, he was a hand full alright. Very rebellious."

"I can imagine...he's rebellious now...how did you do it?" He asked jokingly, making her laugh.

"Oh goodness, I have no idea. But I'm glad the teenage years are over. Peace resumed on Earth by the time he was 25." They both laughed as Chase ran a hand through his blonde hair, making it fall into his eyes.

"Come, come! Let's have a seat, do you want anything?" She asked as she led the way to the living room.

"Oh no, I'm fine thanks." Chase said politely, smiling as he took a seat on the couch as House walked in holding a yellow bag.

"Woman! Why did you tie the knot-of-death on this bag?" His mother rolled her eyes and took the bag from him.

"It's not the knot-of-death, I just didn't want anything to get into it." She said, walking back to the kitchen as House sat next to his fiancée.

"Is that you?" Chase asked, walking over to the fireplace to look at the pictures on the mantel.

"Probably."

"You were so cute! What happened?" He teased, looking back at him.

"I'll hurt you."

"No you won't."

"I know."

**HouseXChase**

"Greg." Chase said, tapping House on the back of the head. House ignored him. "Greg." He said again, tapping him harder, still receiving no answer. Chase pouted and put his lips next to House's ear. "Greg!" He shouted, shoving him on the back of the head.

House looked up at him from his place on the couch and glared playfully up at the blonde, who smiled.

"What do you want, Blondie?"

"Greg, be nice." His mother called from the kitchen, making him roll his eyes.

"Fine. What do you require?" Chase leaned in towards him.

"What are your parents' names?" He whispered, making House realize that he never told him their names.

"John and Blythe."

"Gregory House!" Blythe shouted from behind them, grabbing both of their attention.

"Yes, Mother?" House asked as Chase slapped him lightly on the head.

"You didn't tell Robert our names?" She asked sternly, her hands on her hips.

"It slipped my mind." He said defensively, Chase poking him again. Blythe shook her head and was about to turn back to the kitchen when she stopped.

"What?" House asked, noticing his mother's behavior. She didn't answer and House and Chase looked at her with concerned looks. "Ma?" House tried again. She flashed a fake smile and walked to the kitchen, leaving House and Chase confused.

"What was that all about?" Chase asked, looking down at him. House sighed. He had an idea why his mother acted like that…and he was not happy. He stood and gave Chase a quick peck on the top of his head before heading to the kitchen.

"Greg, what's going on?"

"Go wait on the porch for a little bit."

"But—"

"Chase." The seriousness in House's eyes and voice made Chase nod hesitantly and slowly make his way outside. House stared at the closed door for a moment and returned his eyes to his destination, knowing that all hell was about to break loose.

**HouseXChase**

He leaned his back against the wall, watching his mother lean against the sink and stare out the window. His anger was boiling inside of him and he was surprised at himself for not exploding yet.

"You're acting like someone just died." He said angrily, making Blythe face him. He was surprised to find her eyes to be glassy.

"Greg, how would you react if you found out your son is…is…" He grew angrier at her for not being able to say 'gay'.

"How would I react if I found out my son was gay?" She flinched, "I honestly wouldn't care. That's the way he is and I can't change that, so why bother being upset about something that can't be changed?"

"But what about Stacey? She was a nice girl."

"Don't bring her into this." He hissed, taking a few steps towards her.

"But what about your career? You're going to throw that away for a blonde man?"

"What does my career have to do with this? Everyone knows about Chase and I and you know what? No one seems to care…at least, no one's confronted us about it. My boss supports us as well as the rest of my team. No one gives a damn about my sexuality because it doesn't interfere with my job and I'm the best doctor at PPTH. Chase tells me all the time that when people see his wedding ring, they ask him who he's marrying and when the 'big day' is and he always says that when he says my name, they don't show disgust. If anything, they get excited and ask for details."

"What…wedding ring?" His mother asked slowly, eyes widening slightly.

"We're getting married, Ma. That's why I wanted you to meet him. He's always wanted to meet you and dad, but he's never pushed it because he knows we haven't spoken to each other in a long time. You can shout and scream at me all you want, I don't care and it won't change my mind; but don't do that to Chase. I'm not letting him go, Ma, no matter what you say. But it would be nice if you came to the wedding." Silence hung in the air as House's words began to sink in. Tension was thick between them, anger radiating from both of them. His heart plummeted when he saw his mother put her hands on her hips: a sign that she was extremely pissed off.

"Gregory House." She said coldly, glaring at him who glared back. "I will not allow you to do such a repulsive act. I simply will not allow it. You can't throw your life away for a man! What the hell are you thinking?" Houses mind had stopped on one word:

Repulsive.

His anger grew ten-fold and he stood within a few steps of his mother.

"Repulsive?" He hissed, glaring at her still. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm your mother!" She barked, "I'm supposed to prevent you from making as little stupid mistakes as possible."

"Stupid mistakes?" House roared. "You think the fact that I want to marry Chase is a stupid mistake?"

"Yes! I do! One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is marrying the wrong person."

"He's not the wrong person!"

"Yes he is!"

"How the hell would you know?"

"He's the same gender as you, Greg! You think he's the right person you're supposed to marry because you're afraid of dying alone!"

The tensest silence known to mankind hung in the air. His own mother just said that he was afraid of dying alone; especially, she called him desperate. He felt his legs grow weak and went to sit down at the kitchen table. They didn't speak or look at each other, each lost in their own thoughts.

**HouseXChase**

"Hello there." A man's voice spoke from above Chase, making him look up.

"Hi, I'm not trespassing, Greg told me to wait out here."

"Oh, you're a friend of Greg's?" Chase smiled and tilted his head from side-to-side.

"Something like that."

"Where's your accent from?"

"Melbourne, Australia." The man whistled.

"Wow, you're a long way from home." Chase laughed lightly as the man sat next to him on the porch.

"Why did you come to this slice of paradise known as New Jersey?" Chase chuckled again.

"I just wanted to get away from Australia. I guess I wanted to be around different scenery."

"Have you seen snow before you moved here?" Chase shook his head.

"No, needless to say, I was shocked and scared when I saw white powder falling from the sky." They laughed lightly and Chase couldn't help but notice how much House looks like his father. Crystal blue eyes, dark demeanor, and same facial structure made it obvious that this man was House's father.

"I'm Robert Chase, by the way." He said, shaking the man's hand.

"John House. How do you know Greg?"

"I'm part of his team." John raised his eyebrows and whistled.

"Wow, so you're a doctor too huh? That's impressive. Do you have a specialty?"

"I'm an Intensivist."

"Well if I ever get sick enough to go to the hospital, I'm going to go to where you are and request you." John said, laughing. Chase laughed as well, blushing slightly. He was very flattered by John's comment and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well you're more than welcome to visit." Chase said, smiling at him. John looked thoughtful for a moment.

"That sounds like a good idea. Then I can meet the rest of the team and tell all of you embarrassing stories about Greg's childhood." They laughed and comfortable silence fell between them.

"Why did Greg want you out here?" John asked, turning towards him.

"He didn't say, but he seemed really upset about something." Chase drummed his fingers on his lap, his ring catching the mid-afternoon light.

"May I see?" John asked, pointing to the ring. Chase blush slightly again and held his hand out for John to examine the ring. The man whistled.

"Wow, I know you doctors get paid well, but I didn't think you guys get paid well enough to afford something like this." John said, turning the ring around Chase's finger. The blonde stared incredulously at him.

"H-how?" He asked stupidly, causing John to chuckle and look up at him.

"How do I know that Greg got you that ring?" He asked smiling, Chase nodded. "I may not have talked to him in years, but I know him well enough to know when something major has happened in his life. When the infarction happened, he came up here. You two are getting married, he brings you up here."

"He did seem a bit antsy when we first arrived here."

"He was nervous about our reaction. That's probably why he wanted you to stay out here…him and his mother are most likely at each other's throats right now." Chase's head snapped towards him, fear coursing through his body.

"What? Is his mother…um…?"

"Is she a homophobe?" Chase nodded. "Basically, yeah." Chase's heart sank. "But that shouldn't stop you two from getting married. If it's something that you guys want to do and you feel it's the right thing, then do it. I'm certainly not going to stop you…Blythe will try, but she won't be able to do anything." He said, smiling, easing Chase's nerves.

"So you're…okay with this?" Chase asked uncertainly, making John's smile widen.

"Of course I am. You two love-birds do whatever the hell you want…go on a mass killing spree for all I care, I'm not going to stop you." They both laughed lightly again. John stretched and stood up. "Come on, Robert. Let's go inside. I don't want those two killing each other."

**HouseXChase**

It was deathly quiet when they walked in; the tension began to surround them as well. They quietly walked to the kitchen to see House sitting at the table twirling his cane and Blythe leaning against the sink looking out the window again. Chase stood next to John awkwardly, not sure how to act in this kind of tension.

"Blythe," John started.

"Not now, John."

"Blythe," He repeated, but only receiving an aggravated sigh. "Blythe," She slammed her hands down on the counter and whirled around to glare at him.

"Damn it, John, can't you see that I'm upset?" She screamed, shaking in anger. Chase fiddled with his fingers and looked at the floor, but John seemed unfazed.

"Upset about what? Greg and Robert getting married?" House looked up at his father in surprise and then made eye contact with Chase. The blonde smiled reassuringly at him. Blythe's glare deepened.

"This doesn't bother you?" She asked, her voice shaking. John shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Not in the slightest. If they want to get married, that's their business and we don't have a say in it. I'm perfectly fine with it and I'm very happy for you two." He added, looking between Chase and House, smiling.

"Why are you supporting this so much?" Blythe growled, taking a step closer to him.

"Why aren't you supporting it at all? Our son's getting married and you're pissed off about it. I don't understand that. Robert's a good guy and I think that their future with each other is very promising." Chase felt flattered again by John's words, but saw Blythe's scowl deepen and put her hands on her hips.

"Stop being stupid, John."

"Blythe," John said exasperatedly, "Technology has come a long way." Blythe quirked an eyebrow.

"So?"

"Have you ever heard of Facebook?" She nodded.

"Yeah, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Greg marrying Robert isn't like a friend request on Facebook. You can't click 'ignore' and forget about it."

Something clicked in Chase's mind. He possibly knew the reason why Blythe is so upset about him and House getting married. Even though she is a homophobe, there might be a deeper reason than that. To his knowledge, House is an only child. When him and House get married…she wouldn't get any grandchildren. He looked back up and worked up his courage to speak.

"Blythe?" He asked tentatively, grabbing her attention and glare.

"What?" She asked shortly and he took a deep breath.

"Is…is Greg an only child?" They were thrown off by his question, but she nodded.

"Yes, he's the only child John and I have."

"Are you…are you upset about Greg and I getting married because we won't be able to give you grandkids?" Blythe's eyes went wide as she stared at the blonde in front of her. He felt John and House's eyes on him as well, but he kept his gaze on Blythe. She sighed and looked at the floor briefly.

"Is that what all of this is about?" House asked who stopped twirling his cane. She turned her glassy eyes to him.

"You're our only child, Greg." She said quietly as House stood and made his way towards the door.

Chase and John hurried after him as he walked out the house and towards the car. Chase grabbed his hand, making him stop. John stood a little ways back to give the couple some space. Chase stood in front of House, staring up into his bright blue eyes.

"Now or later?" Chase asked, House knowing that he meant if he wanted to talk about it now or when they got back to their apartment.

"Later." He sighed, turning around to look at his father.

"You picked a good one, Greg." He said lightly, smiling at them both. House directed his eyes towards the blonde.

"I guess." He said with a slight joking tone.

"Now, here's what's going to happen:" John said, putting an arm around Chase and House's shoulders and whispering dramatically, "as soon as you get the wedding arrangements done, I want an invitation. But send it to my P.O. Box just in case Blythe decides to throw it away. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Chase said, looking over at House who smiled back at him.

"Agreed."

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**Like I said, House's father is VERY OOC. I just wanted him to be the fun father-in-law type and hopefully I did that!**

**And yes, I made House's mother very mean at the end.**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	17. Pregnancy Test

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Whoa! That's so radical, Dude!" **

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Pregnancy Test**

Chase didn't say anything to House on the drive back to their apartment, knowing that House needed time to think. He turned on the lights as they walked into their apartment, not sure if House was actually going to talk about what happened at his parents' house.

"I'm sorry about my mother." House mumbled as he closed the door behind him, causing Chase to give him a quizzical look.

"You don't have to apologize for her behavior, Greg. She obviously doesn't approve of me, but—"

"She approves of you, she just doesn't approve of us getting married." House said shortly as he sat down on the couch.

Chase slowly walked over to him and sat down carefully, not sure if House wanted space. But he was relieved when he felt House wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him closer. Resting his head on House's shoulder, Chase wrapped an arm around House's middle, enjoying the warmth the older man provided.

"But I don't understand why your mother disapproves of our marriage more than your father. Mothers are usually the more accepting parent when it comes to anything involving their children." Chase said as he stared at the coffee table.

"In most cases, that's true. But my mother is a very close-minded woman."

"I still think she doesn't like me."

"She probably liked you at first, but when she found out we were getting married…her opinion about you probably changed." Chase sighed. "But it doesn't matter if she likes you or not." Chase looked up at him.

"I don't want to have a bad relationship with my future mother-in-law, Greg." House shrugged lightly.

"Well I know you'll have a very good relationship with your future father-in-law." Chase chuckled as he snuggled into House's chest.

"Your father's a good man; I can definitely see which parent you resemble the most." House looked down at Chase's blonde hair, smiling. Silence fell between before House felt his anger return at the thought of his mother. He sighed deeply and buried his face in Chase's hair.

"Your mother will just have to accept the fact that she's not going to get grandchildren from us, Greg. Whether we have children or not is our business and decision, not hers." Chase said shortly, tightening his grip around House's middle.

"Plus it's too early to decide whether or not we want mini-Houses." Chase chuckled and looked up.

"'Mini-Houses'?" House shrugged.

"I could've said 'homes', but not all homes are smaller than houses." Chase rolled his eyes and laid his head back on House's shoulder. His green-blue eyes drifted to his wedding ring and he felt a smile spread across his face. Before he had gotten into the car to drive back here, John gave him his phone number…

Maybe he should give House's father a call…

Just for grins.

**HouseXChase**

He sat in his seat by the conference table, chewing the tip of his pencil as he stared at his puzzle. He wasn't really paying attention to the puzzle in front of him, instead he was waiting impatiently for his phone to ring from its place on the table.

_Please ring, Phone._

His phone vibrated.

Chase turned to look at it with confusion. His phone rang when he asked it too…something told him that that is not going to be the only odd incident of the day. He picked it up.

"Robert Chase."

"Hello Robert," John said brightly, causing Chase to smile and stand. "I must make a confession." Chase raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what would this confession be?" Cameron and Foreman stared at him with confusion as he left the room.

"I'm lost." Chase chuckled.

"Where are you?" There was a pause.

"By the front door." Chase laughed as he stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the first floor.

"There are signs around the hospital telling people where the departments are." John sighed exasperatedly.

"I know." Chase laughed again as he shook his head, stepping out of the elevator.

"I'll see you in a minute."

**HouseXChase**

"Where's Chase?" House asked when he walked into the conference room, noticing that his blonde fiancée wasn't there. Cameron and Foreman looked up at him.

"He was here a few minutes ago, but he left." Cameron said as House hooked his cane on the board.

"He said something about a confession." Foreman added, making House raise an eyebrow.

"Any idea where he went?" Cameron and Foreman shook their heads.

"I saw him take an elevator downstairs somewhere." Wilson said, leaning against the wall behind him.

"What are you doing here, Wilson?" Cameron asked, House wondering the same thing. Wilson shrugged his shoulders and smiled lightly.

"Just because."

Chase came by his office that morning and told him to go to the conference room around this time. When Wilson asked him why, the blonde simply said that House's daddy was coming for a visit. House was going to say something when he saw Chase open the door, smiling coyly at him.

"Where have you been?" He asked as Chase looked back over his shoulder.

"Greg, you're going to have to trust Robert to let him go wherever he wants too." His father said as he and Chase walked into the room. House sighed deeply.

"What are you doing here?" House asked, placing a hand on the board.

"Robert told me to come here." John said defensively. House narrowed his eyes slightly at Chase.

"Why?" Chase smiled.

"I just want to hear stories about you as a kid and I'm sure everyone else do as well." House rolled his eyes as John chuckled and sat in the seat that Chase had occupied earlier.

"Where to begin?"

"The end." House butted in, not believing that Chase had called his father to come to the hospital. He wasn't angry…just surprised…and embarrassed.

"I remember every time we had snow, Greg would take a trashcan lid and snowboard off the roof."

"Everyone was doing it!" House cried exasperatedly.

"But not everyone ended up in the hospital." John said pointedly. Chase bit his lip to try to hide his smile.

"I want to hear something embarrassing." Chase pressed, smiling widely. House scoffed.

"Do you remember Emma Cryson, Greg?" House sighed deeply as he glared at the carpet, knowing that his father would continue the story despite anything he said.

"Yeah." Chase raised an eyebrow. John chuckled as he leaned back in his seat.

"Every time Greg's mother or I would take him to the store, we made sure that he got lost."

"Excellent parenting tactic." House butted in.

"It was to increase your independence." John said defensively, smiling lightly. "Anyway, I took Greg to the store one day and I lost him."

"I got lost in the store and after looking everywhere for you, I found you. The end." House said, obviously not wanting his father to finish the story.

"Hush." Chase said, smiling and looking back at John.

"After I finished my shopping, I took the bags to the car and walked back into the store to look for Greg."

"You left him in the store by himself? How old was he?" Cameron asked incredulously as John shrugged.

"He was about seven years old at this point." John said nonchalantly. "I looked all over the store for him and I eventually found him. He was sitting in an aisle with another girl from our street." John chuckled. Chase briefly glanced at House and smiled when he saw that his lover had his head behind the board in a futile attempt to hide.

"What were they doing?" Wilson asked, also noticing that House was hiding his head behind the board.

"Well first off, they were in the…uh…feminine product aisle." John twiddled his fingers. Chase, Wilson, and Foreman laughed. Cameron blushed. House let out a loud moan of despair.

"What were they doing?" Chase asked after regaining his breath.

"I'm glad you asked, Robert."

"I'm not." House grumbled.

"Greg had his back to me and as I walked up behind them and looked down at what they were doing, I saw that they had opened a box and were…examining its contents."

"We were seven!" House said loudly, still hiding behind the board.

"Seven year olds, especially boys, should not be examining what a pregnancy test is for! Not only that," He looked up at Chase, "Emma was a very smart girl,"

"Oh God." Cameron said quietly, shaking her head.

"So Emma was teaching Greg what a pregnancy test is for and it appeared like Greg didn't understand what she was saying, so she provided a demonstration."

"What?" They cried at the top of the voices, but John laughed lightly.

"Using her spit."

"She…spat on a pregnancy test?" Cameron asked carefully as John nodded.

"Sure did and Greg mimicked what she was doing."

"So…" Chase looked over at the man hiding behind the board as he felt his smile widen. He quietly walked over to the other side of the board and looked brightly at House. "You incorrectly used a pregnancy test?"

"It didn't turn blue! We were seven years old!" Chase laughed and poked House on the forehead with his finger and straightened back up, looking over at John.

"What happened afterwards?"

"I took Greg home, told his mother what he did, and she gave him the full rundown of that test is all about."

House glared at the carpet as he remembered the visit to his parents' house two weeks ago. He was still furious about what his mother had said and how she behaved.

He is going to get married.

He is marrying the person he loves.

He is happy.

And she is angry.

His glare deepened and he suddenly realized that his father was talking to him. He pulled his head out from behind the board and looked at him. Chase and his father knew what he was thinking about.

_Damnit._

"Greg, have you spoken to your mother recently?" His father asked carefully, receiving a glare. House unhooked his cane from the board.

"No, and I have no intention to either."

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**This was more of a filler chapter. ^^;**

**If you live up North (I used to), then I'm also sure that you used something to snowboard/sled down the roof of your house…if you could get to the roof.**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	18. New Definition of Life

**Dearest Readers,**

"**Why are you so bitchy today? Did someone switch your underwear for a smaller size?"**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**New Definition of Life**

It was quiet.

John twiddled his thumbs. Chase stared at the door that House just left through, debating whether or not he should go talk to him. Cameron, Wilson, and Foreman stared at House's father and Chase waiting for an explanation as to why House just walked out of the conference room.

Chase took a step towards the door, deciding to go talk to House.

"I would leave him alone for a while, Robert." John said, seeing the blonde move out of the corner of his eye. Chase looked down at him.

"Will he be alright?" His Australian accent was thick with worry.

"Eventually, yes." John paused. "I'm sure all of you know that Greg can be…difficult at times." They nodded. "He's always pushed people away, even though he actually does want someone around."

"When did that start?" Wilson asked, drawing John's attention towards him.

"Pardon?" John asked.

"You just said that House always pushes people away, even though he really wants someone around…we've all been very aware of that from the start. But…when did he start pushing people away?" John sighed lightly.

"He's always been that way. But," He hesitated slightly. "He started pushing people away much harder after Stacey left." Chase's eyes darkened as he remembered the dark-haired woman that made House so furious when she came to the hospital.

"However," John said, looking up at Chase. "He's changed quite a bit since you came into the picture." Chase tried to hide his blush by looking down at the carpet.

"Agreed." Wilson said, making Chase look up at him.

"House actually changed very slightly when you first started here, Chase." Wilson said, smiling kindly at him. Chase tilted his head to the side slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't see anything different in House." Cameron said, looking over at Wilson.

"You haven't known him as long as I have. It wasn't drastic, but it was there."

"I d-don't understand." Chase said, not knowing why he just stuttered. Wilson chuckled lightly.

"I still remember the countless times House would come into my office and talk about his team."

"What?" Cameron and Foreman asked together.

"Yeah," Wilson said slowly. "House would always cut you two down."

"Great." Foreman said hotly, leaning back in his seat.

"Mind you," Wilson said thoughtfully. "He still comes by and talks about you guys." Cameron, Foreman, and Chase raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of things does he say?" Cameron asked, not knowing if she would regret asking her question.

"That's when I noticed the change in House."

"Like I said," Wilson continued. "He would always cut you two down." He nodded towards Cameron and Foreman who glared down at the conference table. "But," He turned towards Chase. "House never said a single negative thing about you."

Chase was taken aback. Even when he first started working at PPTH, House never said anything bad about him? Even before he developed feelings for House, he never said anything bad about him? Before House discovered his struggle with Anorexia, he never said anything bad about him?

Why?

"Actually," Wilson's voice brought Chase out of his thoughts. "House spoke very…" He paused, looking for the right word. "He spoke very highly of you."

"He did?" Chase asked at the same time as Cameron and Foreman. Wilson nodded.

"Oh yeah…he spoke very highly of you. Even from your first day here, Chase, House never spoke badly of you." He smiled. "If anything," Wilson paused, smiling lightly at Chase.

"What?" Chase pressed.

"Not only did House speak highly of you…now this took me a little bit of time to pick up on."

"What?" Chase asked again.

"Even from day one, House has always been fond of you." Chase looked down at the carpet, hiding his blush and smile. Wilson chuckled as he leaned against the counter, looking up at the ceiling, remembering.

"So House has always…." Chase trailed off, looking up at Wilson.

"Been very fond of you." Wilson finished. "He's never said anything bad about you, still hasn't if I remember correctly." Chase felt his breath get caught in his throat.

"Greg probably hasn't said anything bad about you because he doesn't know anything bad about you that bothers him." John mused, looking up at Chase. "Everyone has flaws, including you, Robert. However, I honestly don't think that Greg cares about your flaws, which is why he hasn't said anything negative about you."

Chase shoved his hands into his pockets, smiling lightly down at the carpet. He was honestly started to feel slightly overwhelmed by what Wilson and John were saying about House. He didn't realize that House had feelings for him ever since he first started working at the hospital; very strong feelings by the sound of it. But why didn't he ever pick up on it?

"But, House being House…he didn't want anyone to know about his feelings towards you." Wilson said, breaking Chase's train of thought.

"But he told you." Cameron said, not really understanding why she was starting to get really irritated.

"He didn't, actually." Wilson said. "I guessed." They raised an eyebrow at him.

"Guessed?" Foreman asked.

"I've been friends with House for many years…I know how he is. So when he started talking highly of someone on his team, I knew that something was going on inside of him that he wasn't going to say directly. Not only that, I eventually picked up on the fondness in his voice whenever he talked about you." Wilson nodded towards Chase.

"But he never came out and said anything?" Chase asked and Wilson tilted his head from side-to-side.

"No, not really."

"Also," John said, stretching. "You have a surprisingly profound impact on Greg, Robert." Wilson chuckled and they looked over at him.

"What?" Chase asked.

"I remember when House first showed me the engagement ring he got for you. I remember first walking into the bar and seeing him sitting in a booth in the corner. When I sat down, House was in real deep thought."

"House has always been a deep thinker though." Chase said, looking at Wilson, confused.

"Right, but he didn't even realize I was there until I made a noise."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and what really surprised me the most was how…nervous he was."

_House was nervous? Dr. Gregory House was nervous? That name and that adjective do not belong in the same sentence._

"Nervous?" Chase asked, actually feeling his heart flutter at the thought that House was nervous of proposing to him. Wilson nodded.

"Well I'm glad he popped the question." John said, smiling over at Chase. "It's nice to have you part of the family, Robert." Chase smiled, again flattered by his words. "Plus you're Australian…that's an added bonus." They laughed.

"I have a question." Cameron said, looking between John and Chase.

"Yes?" John asked.

"Why did House walk out? Did him and his mother fight or something?" Chase sighed and sat in a chair near John.

"I guess you could say that." John said, looking up at the ceiling.

"About?" Cameron pressed. Neither John nor Chase answered for a moment.

"Greg's mother is a homophobe." John answered, still looking up at the ceiling.

"And she's very upset at the fact that Greg and I can't give her grandchildren." Chase said, staring down at the carpet.

"So," Wilson started carefully. "House's mother doesn't…want you two to get married?" Chase nodded, still staring at the carpet. He reached up and scratched his nose.

"Right, it sounded like the majority of the argument was over when we walked in. They weren't talking to each other." Chase sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm surprised they didn't kill each other." John said seriously, looking back down at Chase.

"But—"

"I don't care what you have to say!" House shouted as he stormed into his office, followed by his mother.

"Oh boy." John said shortly as he hopped up from his seat and hurried into House's office, followed by Chase.

"Will you just listen to me?" Blythe pleaded, earning an angry huff from House.

"Blythe, what are you doing here?" John asked, drawing his wife's attention towards him.

"John? What are you doing here?" John shrugged.

"Visiting."

"Just leave, Mom." House said quietly, his voice dripping with venom.

"Not until you hear what I have to say." Blythe shot back. Chase started to feel awkward again.

"So you want to tell me again that the fact that Chase and I are getting married is repulsive to you?" House shot back, Blythe earning shocked stares from John and Chase.

Chase felt his heart stop. Blythe thought that him and House getting married was repulsive?

_Repulsive? Wonder why that adjective sounds familiar._

"Do you want to tell me again that Chase and I getting married is a mistake?"

_Mistake?_

Chase felt his breath get caught in his throat.

"Do you want to tell me again that the only reason why I'm marrying Chase is because I'm afraid of dying alone?" House's tone of voice remained soft and deadly.

Blythe had actually said those things? Was House's mother so against them getting married that she would say such offensive things? He sighed quietly, hoping that no one heard him, especially House.

But this hope was far-fetched. House stared worriedly at him, but Chase continued to dart his eyes around the room.

House felt his anger boil even more towards his mother as he saw Chase was having an emotional war with himself. It tore him to shreds whenever Chase was this conflicted and hurt. But Chase doesn't cry over many things, but when the blonde does cry…it's always something pretty severe.

His mind flashed back to when his relationship with Chase first started.

He remembered when he first kissed Chase on the roof of the hospital. He remembered the countless times Chase stole his breath by flashing a simple smile. He remembered every take-out Friday. He remembered Chase writing a song just for him. He remembered how no matter what the situation was, he remembered how Chase would seem to be glowing. He remembered how Chase would always hold his hand underneath tables. He remembered watching as Chase told others about his struggle with Anorexia. He remembered when Chase called himself beautiful.

He remembered when Chase said 'yes'.

But then his mind shifted.

He remembered the countless nights of holding Chase as he would eventually cry himself to sleep. He remembered the countless times he would sit with Chase in the bathtub after Chase weighed himself. He remembered when Chase attempted suicide by hanging himself. He remembered when Chase got so furious with him that he walked out. He remembered Chase voicing his insecurities. He remembered Chase telling him about his abuse.

He remembered every fallen tear.

He looked back at his fiancée and saw Chase briefly brush the back of his hand against each of his cheeks, wiping away the tears he fought so hard against. He felt his heart clench in his chest: Chase was trying to not cry…he was trying to hide the fact that he's on the verge of crying.

Chase was almost crying because of his mother.

House's crystal blue eyes narrowed and directed back to his mother, who was still staring at him. This was all her fault.

"Why are you still here?" He asked shortly, breaking the silence.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said." House scoffed and rolled his eyes, twirling his cane in the process.

"If you're expecting forgiveness, you're wasting your time and mine." Blythe sighed heavily, trying to keep a cool head.

"Greg, at least consider my apology."

"No." House said flatly, still glaring at his mother who was glaring back at him.

"Gregory House," Blythe hissed, taking a step towards him. "Why are you being so uncooperative?"

"Why are you being so close-minded?" House shot back, not fazed by her anger.

"You're my son, Greg!" Blythe cried. "I take enormous pride in saying that my son is one of the best Diagnostians in the country! And it is because of your reputation that it's going to get out that you're getting married! So now people are going to ask—"

It clicked.

"You're ashamed?" House roared, instantly on his feet and in his mother's face in barely a few seconds. John and Chase took a couple steps forward to prevent House hurting Blythe if it came to that.

"You're ashamed of the fact that I'm marrying Chase?" House shouted, feeling Chase wrap his hand around his wrist. Blythe glared heatedly at him.

"Greg, don't throw your life and reputation away for him!" Blythe shouted back, taking a step towards her son. Chase felt his heart clench.

"_Don't throw your life and reputation away for him!" _

Blythe implied that he's worthless.

Tears built in his eyes more strongly as he tried to suppress his father's voice screaming in his head.

"I'm not doing either of those things!" House shouted, feeling Chase tighten his grip. He felt something well inside his chest and creep its way up his throat.

"Yes you are, Greg! You've worked so hard to get to where you are. Why are you so intent on throwing away everything you've worked hard for? You've spent years, Greg, years building your life along with your reputation! Don't throw either of them away for him!" She screeched, pointing at Chase. House felt the 'something' creep up his throat and through his mouth.

"You're right." House said, surprisingly calm. Chase felt his heart stop and body freeze at House's words.

_What did he just say?_

Blythe sighed and brushed her hands down the front of her shirt, glancing to John and then back to House.

"Well I'm glad you finally see it my way." House scoffed.

"No, I don't." His mother gave him a confused look, along with John and Chase. The blonde still held House's wrist in his hand, but was now looking up at House with confusion.

"What?" Blythe asked along with Chase. House smiled lightly down at Chase, staring at the green-blue eyes he's always loved so much.

"I don't see anything your way." House said calmly, staring evenly at Blythe. "I getting married to Chase is not throwing away my life or my reputation."

"Greg," Blythe said exasperatedly and was going to continue when House spoke again.

"You are right in saying that I worked hard to get to where I'm at. However," He felt Chase's grip loosen. "Chase is my life and I would gladly throw away my reputation as long as I have him."

Chase stared at House as he felt his body become numb. He felt his eyes grow wet once again, but not because he was hurt or upset…but because he was so overwhelmed by what House just said.

"_Chase is my life and I would gladly throw away my reputation as long as I have him."_

House called him his life. House had said that he would gladly throw away his reputation as long as he was around. He would gladly throw away everything he worked hard for just to be with him. House's love for him ran so much deeper than he could possibly have realized if House never said what he just did.

"Fine," Blythe said hotly. "Fine, just fine. It was obviously a waste of time to come here."

"About time you figured that out." House said coolly as Blythe turned and stormed out of the room. John whistled.

"Wow, she's pissed…big time."

"You can stay with us if you want until she cools down." Chase offered, now holding House's hand.

"Oh no, that's—"

"Stay." House said, looking evenly at his father. John saw something else lurking behind his son's crystal blue eyes. He sighed.

"Alright…I wasn't getting out of this was I?" Chase smiled lightly and shook his head.

"Not even if you begged and pleaded." John chuckled lightly and left the office, walking into the conference room.

They watched the door swing close and Chase looked up at House as the older man looked down at him. Chase saw House's eyes shine brightly in the sunlight that poured through the window to their left.

"You…you really meant it…didn't you?" Chase asked. House tilted his head slightly to the right in confusion.

"Meant what?"

"That I was…."

"That you're my life and I would gladly throw away my reputation just as long as I have you?" House finished, making Chase nod. House chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around the blonde's slim waist, pulling him close to him. He pressed his face into Chase's blonde hair, enjoying the smell of apple. He rubbed Chase's back slowly.

"I meant every word." He said quietly, feeling Chase wrap his arms around his neck. The blonde laid his head against House's chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat.

He felt House wrap his arms tighter around him and rock them slightly from side-to-side. Chase felt himself become tired and allowed his eyes to droop close while still listening to House's heartbeat.

He's always called House's heartbeat his lullaby.

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**Admittedly, I think the ending was kind of cheesy…but oh well. ^^;**

**As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	19. UnWanted Guest

**Dearest Readers,**

**Holy…wow. I apologize for the long update…I think I'm going to be saying that at the start of every chapter now. ^^;**

**I've realized that I've made a boo-boo that I fix in this chapter. ^^; Oops.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Un/Wanted Guest**

"This has got to be the smallest wedding…ever…of all time." House said with his chin on Chase's shoulder, looking down at the guest list.

"Oh be quiet, you. These are the people we know we want to be there."

"Well you can cross off Wilson's name then." House countered, earning a poke on the forehead with Chase's pencil.

"Be nice, Greg. Wilson's a good guy and I'm sure he would love to be there." The blonde looked up at him, smiling. House sighed in defeat.

"Oh alright, I suppose Jimmy can be there." Chase rolled his eyes as he finished writing Cameron's name.

They've been planning their wedding for the past 4 months and they were very proud of themselves for completing so much in a short amount of time. They have even decided on the date to have the wedding. The date was mainly House's idea and it took some effort to persuade Chase to agree on the date. It wasn't the time of year that Chase disagreed with, it was the fact that it was a certain holiday as well.

March 30th…

National Doctors' Day. [1]

"I still don't understand why you want to have the wedding on National Doctors' Day." Chase said, writing Foreman's name. House sighed dramatically.

"Because," He said childishly. "We are both doctors…the majority of people that we know are doctors…March 30th is dedicated to folks like us…we save lives and are super smart…we deserve a damn holiday." House reasoned, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Chase looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"So it's also like a day off for the others?" House tilted his head from side-to-side.

"Sure, let's go with that." They jumped slightly when Chase's phone vibrated on the coffee table. Groaning dramatically, Chase leaned forward and grabbed it, smiling when he saw Aura's name on the Caller ID.

"Hey Aura," He said, leaning back into the couch, stretching.

"Hey Robbie, I have a question for you."

"Yes Dear-Aura-Of-Mine?" Chase asked, smiling.

"When the hell are you sending the invitations to the wedding? Huh? I've been waiting, Mister. And you know how long it takes for mail to get to here in Australia from the United States." Chase laughed softly.

"We'll be sending them out soon. We've decided on a date and everything like that, but we just need to make the invitations and send them off." Aura sighed dramatically and Chase could practically feel her roll her eyes.

"Oh alright, I suppose I can live with that."

"You'll be the first one that an invitation is sent to." Chase said, House chuckling lightly behind him.

"I better be." Aura grumbled. "Is Greg there?"

"Yeah, he's right here." He held the phone up to House, who took it.

"Yes Miss Aura?" He said, leaning against the couch.

"Greg," She said seriously. House felt his heart beat quicken when he heard the seriousness in her voice, not understanding why she was upbeat with Chase, but serious with him.

"Yes Aura?" House asked innocently, walking towards the kitchen so that Chase couldn't hear their conversation.

"Is Robbie with you?"

"No, what's going on Aura?" She hesitated for a moment.

"Robbie's father got into contact with me earlier today."

House remained quiet, his grip tightening on Chase's phone. Chase's father had talked to Aura…but what about?

He felt his heart stop:

He must've heard about the wedding.

"What did he want" House asked, keeping his voice low.

"He…he heard about the wedding, Greg." House remained quiet again.

_Chase's father wants to come to the wedding._

"I'm assuming he said that he wanted to come?" Aura hesitated again.

"Yeah, but I told him that Robbie wouldn't want him to be there. Robbie won't be able to handle the news that his father wants to be at the wedding. I'm trying to talk his father out of not being so persistent about it, but he's not budging." She sighed deeply. "I don't know what to do, Greg. Should Robbie know that his father wants to be at the wedding?"

House sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter, thinking. If him or Aura told Chase that his father not only got into contact with Aura, but also wanted to be at the wedding, he won't take it well. But if his father decided to visit Chase without warning, he won't be able to handle that either. He sighed again. He didn't want to admit that he didn't know what to do either.

"Two things can be done, but both will have the same outcome." He finally said slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"If we told him that his father got into contact with you, he won't take it well. But if his father decided to visit unannounced, he won't take that well either. Either way, Chase is going to get hurt."

It killed House to say that Chase would get hurt no matter what they did. He hated the fact that there was nothing he could do to prevent the pain from inflicting Chase in an unknown way.

_His father verbally abused him and left…it's always difficult for a person to face their abuser; especially if the abuser is a relative. Plus Chase hasn't seen him in years and he still has bitterness and Unforgiveness towards his father…_

_He needs to know that his father got into contact with Aura._

He sighed.

"We need to tell him." He said and he heard Aura sigh and then sniff.

"Yeah," She said thickly. "It's best if you do it…you're there and his fiancée. Just let me know what happens after you tell him, alright?" House nodded.

"Alright, I'll…go talk to him."

"Good luck." House hung up and pinched the bridge of his nose. Chase wasn't going to take this well.

He pushed himself off the counter and towards the living room. He tossed Chase's phone next to the blonde on the couch and sat next to him, slipping an arm around his slim waist. Chase looked over at him and smiled, making House's heart ache.

"What did Aura say?" Chase asked, tilting his head to the right slightly in curiosity. House sighed and organized his thoughts, choosing his words carefully. Chase sat up straighter and looked worriedly at him.

"Greg, what's wrong?" House sighed quietly again, knowing that the blonde was going to not take the news well…and cry…it killed him to see the blonde cry.

"Aura talked to someone that she hasn't in a long time." Chase raised an eyebrow.

"An old friend?" House bit his lip.

"Your father."

Silence.

Chase directed his eyes towards his lap, looking at his hands. House pulled the blonde onto his lap who laid his head over his heart and let the rest of his body remain limp. House held the blonde tightly, burring his face in Chase's blonde apple-scented hair as he heard the Aussie sniff.

"What did he say?" Chase choked, already having a general idea.

"He wants to come to the wedding." House said quietly. Chase sighed heavily, closing his eyes. He felt House rub his back slowly as he listed to the older man's steady heartbeat.

They remained in silence for what felt like hours, Chase feeling repressed emotions well up inside of him. His father wanted to be at the wedding after he hurt him and walked out.

He won't allow his father to be there.

_But he's your father. _Chase cursed his conscious for its very existence.

That doesn't matter.

_Every parent wants to see their child get married._

He wasn't a parent.

_It's been years since you last saw him._

Let's see if we can make that number even larger.

_He might've changed._

People don't change.

_You have._

Chase opened his eyes and stared mindlessly at the cream-colored wall in front of him, feeling House's arms still tightly wrapped around his frame. He pressed himself closer into House, remembering the past year and a half with the man.

He dared to look back at his life before starting his relationship with House and cringed slightly at the memories. He thought back to where he was at the moment and felt even more conflict within himself.

He has changed.

So if he's changed…

Does that mean his father has changed as well?

_People like him don't change._

Chase sighed heavily again and buried his face into House's shirt, grabbing the front of the blue fabric in the process. House sighed quietly, looking down at the blonde. He knew that the Aussie was currently having internal conflict…he could feel it. And it pissed him off that he couldn't do anything about it.

He withdrew his arms from the blonde as the younger man stood, walking towards their bedroom. House chose to not follow, knowing that Chase needed space.

**HouseXChase**

He let out a small grunt as he flopped, face-first, down onto the bed. He breathed in the smell of the newly Febreezed sheets and crawled under the blanket; a nap has been screaming for him all day anyway.

Chase was just about to close his eyes when the silver binding of a book in the slightly opened drawer of his nightstand caught his eye. He sighed and closed his eyes, but soon opened them again as the curiosity of the book got the best of him. Sighing, he reached into the drawer and pulled it out, quickly realizing what it was.

_I thought I got rid of this._

It was his mother's diary.

Propping his head up with his right arm, he flipped it open and recognized his mother's elegant cursive handwriting looking back up at him. He flipped through it, not really reading any of the words. He made it to the last page and felt a chill run through his body. His green-blue eyes stared at the words as he gently bit his lower lip.

_**Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over. [2]**_

Chase released a small sigh and chuckle, not really sure how to react to the irony of his mother's words.

_Did she plan on doing that?_

Chase knew that he started over, that fact was undeniable. But…he knew that he hasn't let go of what his father did…that fact was undeniable.

He's started over, but hasn't let go.

He thought back to the time when he and House had their 'major fight'. House had said that hasn't let go of what his father did to him…and he was right….

He reread his mother's words.

"'Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over'." He muttered to himself, starting to feel the internal conflict calm down.

He needed to let go…

He needed to talk to his father.

Chase sighed and closed his mother's diary, laying his head back on his pillow. If he can change from the person he used to be to the person he is now…that means that there's a possibility that his father has changed too.

That thought didn't settle too well with him. But…

_Guess I won't know until I talk to him._

**HouseXChase**

House was mindlessly twirling his cane when he heard Chase walk down the hallway into the living room. He looked up at the blonde, confused by his nervousness.

"You okay?" He asked carefully as Chase sat next to him, holding his phone in his hands. Chase didn't say anything as he scrolled through his contact list, finding the number he was looking for. House frowned worriedly as Chase sighed and called the number, holding the phone to his ear.

_Is he calling Aura?_

House waited tensely for Chase to say something when he heard a muffled voice on the other end of the line. Chase held the phone in both hands and bit his lip gently.

"H-h…" Chase stuttered, sighing to steady himself. House heard the person on the other line speak again. Chase breathed in deeply.

"Hi, Dad." He said softly, earning a bewildered look from House.

_He's talking to his father?_

House wrapped an arm around his waist, debating whether or not he should leave Chase alone to talk to his father. But Chase reached out and grabbed his other hand, silently telling him to not leave.

"Robert? Is that you?" Chase's father asked confused. Chase bit his lip again.

"Yeah…it's me. I uh…I heard that you talked to Aura." Rowan was quiet for a moment.

"Yes…yes I did speak with her earlier today. It's…it's good to hear your voice, Robert." Chase felt his eyes sting at the soft sounding voice of his father.

"I…I'm assuming that you heard about…." Chase started to hate himself for being so tentative.

"The wedding?" Chase nodded, even though his father couldn't see him. "Yes, I've heard about it. Congratulations." Chase's eyes widened as he tighten his grip on House's hand.

"What?" He asked stupidly, not used to hearing positive things from his father. Rowan chuckled lightly.

"Congratulations on the engagement, Robert. I'm…I'm happy to hear…that you're doing well." Chase felt his eyes grow wet.

"Thank you." He said softly and House rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb. Chase hesitated.

"Are you…" He hesitated again, not sure if he should ask his question. His mother's words flashed in front of his eyes and he felt his lips twitch into a tiny smile.

"Am I what, Robert?" His father pressed.

"Are you…going to come? To the wedding, I mean." Chase asked the last part hurriedly, surprising House.

_Chase wants him to be there?_

Rowan was obviously thinking the same thing. He hesitated.

"Do you want me to be there, Robert?"

Chase remained quiet, thinking. Did he want his father at the wedding? But he then thought of his mother's words and he smiled lightly.

_First step is always the hardest._

"Robert?" Rowan pressed after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah," Chase said finally, feeling a large pressure being lifted from him. "Yeah…I want you to be there." No one said anything for a few moments.

"Why? I will certainly be there if you want me to be, Robert. But why do you…want…me to be there?" Chase looked down at the hand holding House's, the engagement ring catching the light from the windows.

"Just something that Mum said made me decide that I want you there."

"And what did she say?" Rowan asked, not quite understanding his son's reasoning. Chase smiled lightly again, still staring at his ring.

"I'll tell you when you get here." House was eyeing him carefully, not understanding Chase's current actions.

"Do you…have a date?"

"Is your address still the same?" Chase fired back, laying his head against House's shoulder.

"Yes…yes it is."

"Well then…I'll send you an invitation very soon." He ended the call and dropped his phone next to him, curling up against a stunned House. Chase looked up at him, concerned about the stiffness of his body.

"What?" He asked, his thick Australian accent cutting through House's confusion.

"Did you…willingly—"

"Invite my father to the wedding?" Chase finished for him, smiling. House nodded.

"Yes…yes I did." House's brow furrowed.

"Why?" Chase poked his nose affectionately and stood.

"My Mum always had a way with words." He said simply, walking over to the piano and sitting on the bench. House stared at him.

_What brought this on? First he was about to collapse into tears and now he's…._

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Chase begin to play mindlessly on the piano, staring out at the window to his left occasionally.

Chase smiled as he watched the sky become different shades of yellow, orange, and red. Never in his life did he think that he would be able to even speak to his father again, let alone invite him to his wedding. He quickened the pace of the notes, feeling a brand new sense of rebirth course through him.

_Is this what it feels like…to let go?_

Whether he actually did let go of the things that his father did was clouded. But either way, he didn't feel himself chained to his father's actions. He didn't feel the intense hold that his father's abuse had on him anymore…at least, not as intensely.

He looked back out window at the multi-colored sky, thinking. Talking to his father and actually meeting his father are two different things…but he knew that he would have to confront his father eventually. He couldn't run from his father forever no matter how hard he tried.

_Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over._

He smiled and laughed lightly at his mother's words. He's had his mother's diary for years, but he's never actually read through it. He didn't even know why he kept it in the first place. He smiled once again.

_Looks like I have some new reading material._

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**I know that chapter wasn't very long, but it was necessary.**

**Again, I apologize for the long update. ^^;**

**[1]:...yes...this is an actual holiday...according to Google. ^^;**

**[2]: On the first page of a book titled "The Secret of Letting Go"**

**Reviews please!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


	20. Heart Over Head

**Dearest Readers,**

**FACT: You guys are awesome. ^_^ You're always patient with my ridiculously slow updates and I greatly appreciate it. With that said, Finals are approaching so I'm trying to update as much as possible before that dreaded time comes.**

**Read on, Cherubs.**

**Over and out.**

**Heart Over Head**

"He what?" Aura asked incredulously, gripping her phone tightly.

"He voluntarily invited his father to the wedding." House heard Aura shuffle around. "What are you doing?"

"'Voluntary: by choice; of one's own free will; controlled by the will', So Robbie willingly invited his father to the wedding."

More shuffling.

"'Willing: consenting; doing or done gladly'…are you sure Robbie did that or are you just getting back at me for something that I'm unaware of doing?" House chuckled lightly as he twirled his cane behind his desk with his feet propped up.

"No, Aura, you didn't do anything and did you just read the dictionary?" He smiled at Aura's hesitation.

"Maybe."

"He mentioned his mother as well; something about how she always had a way with words." He heard Aura put the dictionary down on a table.

"Well, I never saw his mother, so I honestly don't have a clear picture of what she was like other than being a depressed alcoholic and addict. Robbie wouldn't tell you what his mother said?" House shook his head.

"No, he just said that she had a way with words; which is kind of strange considering the way she was and their strained relationship."

Silence fell between them as House and Aura became lost in their own thoughts concerning a certain male Aussie. As House looked out the window to his right, he started to think of all the possible outcomes of the meeting between Chase and his father. He felt his chest tighten at the thought of the troubles between him and his mother…he hasn't spoken to her in about 5 months now.

He sighed heavily, but then felt his body freeze all over.

His mother….

"Aura," He said softly, thinking about his mother's enraged face.

"Yeah?" House hesitated slightly.

"What did Chase's father say to you exactly when you talked to him?" Aura yawned lightly.

"He was basically confirming the fact that Robbie was getting married. All he really tried to do was to get Chase's number from me so he could talk to him about it." House tightened his grip on his phone, noticing that Aura left out a crucial piece of information.

"He doesn't know Chase is marrying me, does he?" House asked quietly, practically feeling Aura's body freezing with the realization.

"No…no he doesn't. I guess Chase never told him about his sexuality because his father asked me who the 'lucky lady' was." House sighed and began to lightly tap his cane against the floor.

Silence.

"But think of it this way," Aura continued.

"What?"

"You're a world renowned Diagnostician, right?" House nodded slowly.

"Yeah, and your point is?"

"Maybe that fact will help—"

"Not make his father as pissed off?" House finished.

"Well…basically, yeah."

_That didn't work on my mother, so I doubt it'll work on someone like Chase's father._

"Just talked to—oh, sorry." Chase said as he walked into House's office, not realizing he was on the phone.

"It's fine, who did you talk to?" House asked as he quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, feeling like his eardrum just exploded from Aura screaming hello to Chase. They chuckled.

"Aura, there's no need to scream. I'm right here." Chase said, leaning in near House to talk into his phone.

"I just wanted to make sure you heard me."

"Mission accomplished."

"Aye, aye, Captain! Over and out." They laughed as House hung up the phone and Chase sat on the corner of House's desk.

"So who did you talk to?" House asked, poking Chase's leg playfully with his cane.

"My dad." House continued to poke Chase, figuring it was best to not interrupt the blonde.

"He said he'll fly here about a week before the wedding. We need to send out the invitations by the way." He added, realizing that they forgot to put them in the mailbox this morning.

"We left them on the coffee table, didn't we?" House asked, looking up at the ceiling. Chase nodded, biting his lower lip gently. House sensed that Chase wanted to say something. He looked back down at the blonde.

"What is it?" Chase redirected his eyes to the window in front of him, not answering his question.

House eyed his fiancée carefully and gingerly swung his legs off of his desk and stood. Leaning on his desk next to the blonde, he stared out the window with him, waiting for the man next to him to say something.

"We both know you're going to say whatever it is that's on your mind, so you might as well say it now." House said, bumping his shoulder into Chase lightly, making the blonde smile.

"What about your mum?" Chase asked quietly, fiddling with his fingers as he looked down at the carpet.

House sighed and directed his attention back to the window. His mother. He felt his anger simmer just thinking about her and her homophobia. He was still angry at her and he was sure that she was still angry at him as well. But…

_Chase was able to willingly invite his verbally abusive father to the wedding. Don't know why or how he did that, but he did. So…_

House sighed.

If Chase could willingly invite his father who verbally abused him in the past, then he should be able to willingly invite his homophobic mother.

He sighed again and looked over at Chase out of the corner of his eye, seeing the blonde still fiddling with his fingers as he looked down at the carpet. House reached out and pulled one of Chase's hands towards him, holding it on his leg. He directed his eyes towards Chase's left hand, seeing the engagement ring glisten in the sunlight from the window. He smiled lightly.

"Don't do anything wedding-related this weekend." He said, making Chase look up at him.

"What?"

"Don't do anything wedding-related this weekend." He repeated, earning a confused look.

"Why? We only have a certain amount of time to get things arranged, House."

"I know, but that's all we've really been doing for the past few months. Go do something fun this weekend." Chase raised an eyebrow at him.

"What will you be doing?" House smiled slightly.

"Delivering an invitation in person."

**HouseXChase**

"Oh, hello there Greg." His father said, surprised. John walked out onto the porch and closed the door behind him.

"Hey Dad." House said awkwardly, not really making eye contact. John smiled lightly and walked to sit down on the side of the porch, indicating for House to join him.

They sat in silence for a few moments, John knowing what his son was here for. But he knew his son well enough to know when he was organizing his thoughts like he was now. House reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the wedding invitation, handing it to his father. John smiled down at the elegant writing on the front of the envelope and turned it over to open it.

"Chase did the writing." House said, making them both chuckle lightly as House remembered Chase pouring over each invitation to get the curve of the letters just right.

"Tell him he did a very nice job." John said, reading. "You two did a good job on these." He turned to look at his son who was also reading the invitation.

"But," House said. "It's takes true talent to get the stamp straight and impeccable endurance to stand the taste of sealing the envelope." John chuckled.

"Of course it does because the stamp was the first thing I noticed." They laughed lightly as silence fell between them again.

"John, who—" Blythe stopped mid-sentence when she saw her son sitting on the porch. House looked behind him and made eye contact with his mother.

The air turned tense as House and Blythe continued to stare evenly at each other. House kept his facial expression passive while Blythe struggled to keep her anger hidden.

"Hello Greg," She said finally in a terse voice.

"Hi Mom," House said, keeping all negativity from his voice.

"Blythe," John said, holding up the invitation. "Look at what Greg brought us." Blythe's eyes burned holes through the invitation and House felt his anger spark.

"If you don't want to go," House said, using a lot of energy to keep his temper in control. "Then don't go. You're not obligated to." His mother stood in the doorway for a few moments before walking back inside, slamming the door behind her.

"That went well." John said, causing House to huff.

"Yeah, she seemed really excited." John placed a hand on House's back carefully, not sure how his son would react to the physical contact. House tensed slightly, surprised at his father's comforting gesture, and then relaxed.

"She just needs time to cope with the idea, Greg."

"She's had 5 months." House shot back, a slight edge in his voice. John paused.

"Do you really want her to be at the wedding?" House looked over at his father, slightly surprised at his question.

"Ye—"

"Do _you really _want her to be at the wedding?" John interrupted, eyeing his son carefully. House raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was going to say yes."

"Think about it, Greg." House huffed slightly in annoyance.

"I am."

"With your head." House narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion at his father's statement.

"You have to think with your head, Dad. That's where—"

"The brain is, I know." John interrupted again, smiling lightly. "Stop thinking with your head and think with that pump in your chest."

"But—"

"Let me explain." John interrupted once again. "You're thinking with your head, Greg, and you can't do that here." House was about to speak by John silenced him.

"When you started your relationship with Robert, did you think or feel that it would turn out the way it has?" House directed his eyes in front of him, staring out in front of his parents' front lawn.

"You didn't use knowledge to determine whether or not Robert was the one for you." John continued. "You knew he was because you felt it. You can't feel with your head, you feel with your heart right?" There was a brief moment of silence.

"Will your mother's absence at the wedding prevent you from marrying Robert?" House directed his gaze back towards his father.

"No." He said flatly, causing John to smile.

"Exactly, so why does it matter so much?" House bit the inside of his cheek gently.

"Chase's father will be there."

"And?" House hesitated. He didn't want to tell the whole truth of the relationship Chase has with his father.

"Chase and his father never got along when he was growing up and they stopped talking for years." House said, which was true…he just left out that his father was an ass who abused his own son, Chase. John nodded thoughtfully.

"So Robert was able to confront his estranged father and was also able to invite him to the wedding," John started, putting the pieces together. "And you want to be able to confront your homophobic mother and get her to go to the wedding too." House broke eye contact with his father, giving John the indication that he was right.

"Well, you were able to confront her, but does it matter if she goes or not?"

"No, but—"

"Thinking with your head again." John said, making House sigh.

Silence.

"I don't want her to be at the wedding." House said softly as John patted him lightly on the back.

"I thought not. That's a decision you made with your heart, not your head…which is very different for you and that's probably why you're having such a hard time in doing it." House cased his eyes down to the grass, thinking about everything his father just said.

_Since when was he insightful?_

"Mind you, you probably get that from me." John said, chuckling lightly; House turned and looked back at him.

"What?"

"Thinking with your head…you probably get that from me. I didn't help very much in instilling that quality even further into you, but…it seemed to have helped you significantly…except in matters when you should use your heart, not your head." House tapped his cane lightly against the side of the porch, thinking.

"Are you coming?"

"To the wedding?" House nodded.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" They made eye contact, House now realizing how much of himself he actually inherited from his father.

"Mom." John waved his hand around, as though batting House's statement out of the air.

"Don't worry about her. If she can't accept that you're marrying Robert, that's her problem and no one else's."

"She'll make your life miserable if you go." House said, making John laugh openly.

"Greg, I've been married to that woman for longer than you've been alive…I've been miserable." House chuckled lightly. "But it'll probably be a bit different with you and Robert." John said thoughtfully.

"How so?" John laughed.

"Robert won't turn into the Devil for a week when Mother Nature presents her gift."

**HouseXChase**

**Alright Gang,**

**I know this story is taking FOREVER to finish and I apologize profusely for that. However, this story is almost done u_u**

**I intend on having the next chapter of this story up and ready to go within the next 7-10 days, so be on the look out for that.**

**Reviews please!**

**When-Rabbit-Howls**


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